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Q: Game message is not displayed I'm writing a small adventure game for Android. The code and demo is available from my repository. I have program trying to achieve a game message that is displayed with information which character enters the room. But the message is only displayed "sometimes" which is confusing.
The message is supposed to be "A terrifying skeleton warrior enters." and in the code this part is in the class Person.java. This game message is not always displayed and I wonder why?
package dev.game.adventure;

import java.util.*;

/**
 * ADT for persons which is completed which subclasses to creating actors with
 * specific properties
 */
public class Person {

    /**
     * Name of the Person.
     */
    public String name;

    /**
     * The World which this Person is associated with.
     */
    public World world;

    /**
     * Tells where this Person is at the moment.
     */
    public Place place;

    /**
     * The inventory, contains Things.
     */
    public Collection<Thing> things;
    FullscreenActivity target;
    /**
     * Shows how the Person looks like
     */
    public int image;

    public String getHelloWorldString() {
        return "HELLO WORLD";
    }

    /**
     * Create Person named `name' in world `world'.
     *
     * @param world The world where the Person is created.
     * @param name  Name of the Person.
     * @param app   An image used to display the Person.
     */
    public Person(World world, String name, int app, FullscreenActivity target) {
        this.world = world;
        this.name = name;
        this.image = app;
        this.target = target;
        place = world.defaultPlace();
        if (this.getName().equals("Skeleton")) {
            world.sayAtPlace(place,
                    "A terrifying skeleton warrior appears!", target);
        }
        place.enter(this, target);
        things = Collections.synchronizedCollection(new LinkedList<Thing>());
    }

    /**
     * Go directly, and quietly, to 'place'. That is to say, without posting a
     * message that you're doing so.
     *
     * @param place A string referring to the Place to go to.
     * @see #goTo(Place, FullscreenActivity)
     * @see #go
     */
    public void goTo(String place, FullscreenActivity target) {
        goTo(world.getPlace(place), target);
    }

    /**
     * Go directly, and quietly, to `whereTo'. That is to say, without posting a
     * message that you're doing so.
     *
     * @param whereTo The Place to go to. Can be null in which case nothing happens.
     * @see #goTo(Place, FullscreenActivity
     * @see #go
     */
    public void goTo(Place whereTo, FullscreenActivity target) {
        if (whereTo != null) {
            place.exit(this, target);
            whereTo.enter(this, target);

            if (this.getName().equals("Skeleton")) {
                world.sayAtPlace(whereTo,
                        "A terrifying skeleton warrior appears!", target);
            }

            world.update(place, target);
            // Record our new position.
            place = whereTo;
            // Also update Player's here.
            world.update(place, target);
        }
    }

    /**
     * Go through the door `door', verbosly. That is to say, post a message that
     * you re doing so. Don't complain if the door doesn't exist.
     *
     * @param door Name of the door to exit through.
     * @see #goTo(String)
     * @see #goTo(Place, FullscreenActivity
     */
    public void go(String door, FullscreenActivity target) {
        Place whereTo = place.getExit(door);
        if (whereTo != null) {
            if (!name.equals("You")) {
                world.sayAtPlace(place, name + " goes " + door, target);
            } else {
                world.sayAtPlace(place, name + " are going " + door, target);
            }
            goTo(whereTo, target);
        }
    }

    /**
     * Print `text' in the bottom of the text window. Prepend it with a cue
     * indicating who is speaking. The text will only show up for Players at the
     * same Place as the one who is speaking.
     *
     * @param text String to be displayed.
     */
    public void say(String text, FullscreenActivity target) {
        world.sayAtPlace(place, name + " says: " + text, target);
    }

    /**
     * Grab a Thing from this Place and place it in the inventory.
     *
     * @param thingName Name referring to a Thing to be grabbed.
     * @see #drop
     */
    public synchronized void grab(String thingName, FullscreenActivity target) {
        Thing item = place.removeThing(thingName);
        if (item != null) {
            things.add(item);
            world.sayAtPlace(place, name + " is taking " + thingName, target);
            world.update(place, target);
        }
    }

    /**
     * Drop a Thing the ground by deleting it from the inventory.
     *
     * @param thingName Name referring to a Thing to be dropped.
     * @see #grab
     */
    public synchronized void drop(String thingName, FullscreenActivity target) {
        Thing item = findThing(thingName);

        if (item != null) {
            things.remove(item);
            place.addThing(item);
            world.sayAtPlace(place, name + " is dropping " + thingName, target);
            world.update(place, target);
        }
    }

    /**
     * Find a Thing in our inventory.
     *
     * @param thingName The name of a thing to find.
     */
    public Thing findThing(String thingName) {
        synchronized (things) {
            Iterator<Thing> iterate = things.iterator();
            while (iterate.hasNext()) {
                Thing t = (Thing) iterate.next();
                if (t.name.equals(thingName))
                    return t;
            }
        }
        return null;
    }

    /**
     * Respond to a query from another person.
     *
     * @param questioner The Person querying.
     */
    public void query(Person questioner) {
        // Default case - don't say anything
    }

    public String getName() {
        return name;
    }

    public void setName(String name) {
        this.name = name;
    }

    public World getWorld() {
        return world;
    }

    public void setWorld(World world) {
        this.world = world;
    }

    public Collection<Thing> getThings() {
        return things;
    }

    public void setThings(Collection<Thing> things) {
        this.things = things;
    }

    public int getImage() {
        return image;
    }

    public void setImage(int image) {
        this.image = image;
    }
}

Class World
package dev.game.adventure;

import java.util.*;

/**
 * The data structure that describes the world.
 */
public abstract class World { // "implements" Playable
    public Adventure owner;

    public AdventureGame ag;

    public AdventureGame getAg() {
        return ag;
    }

    /**
     * Players watching this World
     */
    public Collection<Player> players;

    public void setAg(AdventureGame ag) {
        this.ag = ag;
    }

    /**
     * Places in this World
     */
    public Map<String, Place> places;

    public Map<String, Place> getPlaces() {
        return places;
    }

    public void setPlaces(Map<String, Place> places) {
        this.places = places;
    }

    public Collection<Player> getPlayers() {
        return players;
    }

    public void setPlayers(Collection<Player> players) {
        this.players = players;
    }

    /**
     * Create a World. `a' is a reference to the Adventure itself. This reference is
     * used when loading images and sounds.
     *
     * @param a An instance of adventure.
     */
    public World(Adventure a) {
        places = new HashMap<String, Place>();
        players = new LinkedList<Player>();
        owner = a;
    }

    // Every World must implement this method which returns at what
    // Place in the World new Persons are created.
    abstract Place defaultPlace();

    /**
     * Create a Place with name `name' and picture file name "`name'.gif" and
     * add it to this World.
     *
     * @param name A name for the new place and the filename for the gif-image.
     */
    public void createPlace(String name, FullscreenActivity target, int pic) {
        createPlace(name, pic, target);
    }

    /**
     * Create a Place with name `name' and picture file name `picture' and add
     * it to this World.
     *
     * @param name    A name for the new place.
     * @param picture The filename of the image associated with the place.
     */
    public void createPlace(String name, int picture, FullscreenActivity target) {
        places.put(name, new Place(name, owner.loadPicture(picture, target)));
    }

    /**
     * Returns the Place in this world which has the name `name'.
     *
     * @param name Name of the place to be returned.
     * @return The place in name.
     * @throws NoSuchElementException if matching place does not exist.
     */
    public Place getPlace(String name) {
        Place p = (Place) places.get(name);
        if (p == null)
            throw new NoSuchElementException(name);
        return p;
    }

    /**
     * State that the Player `p' is watching this world.
     *
     * @param p The player to add to the list of players watching this world.
     */
    public void addPlayer(Player p) {
        players.add(p);
    }

    /**
     * Update the control window of any Players who are currently watching
     * `place'.
     *
     * @param place to update.
     */
    public void update(Place place, FullscreenActivity target) {
        synchronized (players) {
            Iterator<Player> ls = players.iterator();
            while (ls.hasNext()) {
                Player p = ls.next();
                if (p.currentPlace() == place)
                    p.update();
            }
        }
        place.draw(target, ag);
    }

    /**
     * Say `text' in the Place `place'. The text will become visible at the
     * bottom of the text window of any Players currently watching `place'.
     *
     * @param place The place where the string will be displayed.
     * @param text  The string to be displayed.
     */
    public void sayAtPlace(Place place, String text, FullscreenActivity target) {
        synchronized (players) {
            Iterator<Player> ls = players.iterator();
            while (ls.hasNext()) {
                Player p = ls.next();
                if (p.currentPlace() == place) {
                    p.say(text, target); //FIXME does this always work???
                }
            }
        }
    }

    /**
     * Play `sound' in the Place `place'. The sound will be played by any
     * Players currently watching `place'. Sound can for example be:
     * "songs/what_a_wonderful_world" -- suitable when your key is accepted
     * "effects/gong" -- suitable when Troll kills
     *
     * @param place Place at which the sound will be played.
     * @param sound Filename of the sound.
     */
    public void playAtPlace(Place place, String sound) {
        synchronized (players) {
            Iterator<Player> ls = players.iterator();
            while (ls.hasNext()) {
                Player p = ls.next();
                if (p.currentPlace() == place) {
                    //owner.playSound(sound);
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

The rest of the code, please check the repo.
The strange thing which debugging shows is that the following code is reached and prints the texts to the game:
if (person.getName().equals("You")) {

    String[] msgs = {
            "The horrible shrieks of the undead chill your bones.",
            "The maddening horrors of this place make your skin crawl.",
            "Death fills the very air of everywhere you turn.",
            "Frightening voices in the air whisper to you, imploring you to join their ranks.",
            "The pungent stength of lurking horrors fills your nostrils.",
            "Morbid visions glimpse before eyes.",
            "Howling screams of a distant Leviathan far below shiver your sanity and prophesize your doom.",
            "Ancient abominations and unspeakable horrors stir in their sleep as you sneak them by."};

    String rand = msgs[(int) (Math.random() * msgs.length)];
    person.getWorld().sayAtPlace(person.place, rand, target);
    // don't write out exit info if there is none
    if (!this.name.equals("Heaven")) {
        person.getWorld().sayAtPlace(person.place,
                "There are doors " + s, target);
    }
}

While the other codes in the same method don't print to the screen. Why???

A: Debugging can be an extremely useful tool when it comes to determining why things don't work. By simply printing to console you can isolate where the program/code stops functioning as you expect it to.
With your code, you are observing that you are not consistently printing a game message when you expect it to. The first place to check would be whether you enter this if statement when you expect to. You mentioned that during debugging you isolate that it does. Hence the problem must be in the sayAtPlace() method.
if (this.getName().equals("Skeleton")) {
    world.sayAtPlace(place,
        "A terrifying skeleton warrior appears!", target);
}

The sayAtPlace method, as shown, expects that there be a player at the provided place. If it finds no player, then there will be no output. While debugging you said that there are no players, hence you would expect no output to be shown. If there are no players, you will be unable to find a match withing the Player collection, which would be required to invoke the say method to display the message.
    public void sayAtPlace(Place place, String text, FullscreenActivity target) {
        synchronized (players) {
            Iterator<Player> ls = players.iterator();
            while (ls.hasNext()) {
                Player p = ls.next();
                if (p.currentPlace() == place) {
                    p.say(text, target); //FIXME does this always work???
                }
            }
        }
    }

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Home » Dragon Mountain
Dragon Mountain
By Katie Tsang
Ages 8 to 12, Grades 3 to 7
From the authors behind the critically acclaimed Sam Wu books, a thrilling new fantasy series about friendship, courage, adventure, and dragon magic.
When 12-year-old Billy Chan finds out his parents are sending him to a language and culture camp in the middle-of-nowhere China, he can't imagine anything worse. He's not expecting to become friends with fellow campers Dylan O'Donnell, Charlotte Bell, and Liu Ling-Fei. And he's definitely not planning to meet any dragons. But when the four kids accidentally open a crack in an ancient mountain, they become involved in an ages-old struggle of good versus evil. Now it's up to them to save the Dragon Realm—if they don't, the world as they know it might disappear forever.
Katie and Kevin Tsang met while studying at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Kevin works as a healthcare technology consultant, and Katie writes YA as Katherine Webber. Together, they have also co-authored the Sam Wu Is Not Afraid chapter book series. They currently live in London and can be found on Twitter @kwebberwrites and @kevtsang.
Format: Hardcover with dust jacket
Publisher: Sterling Children's Books

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Oxytocin Pathway - Ms. Shunkwiler`s Wiki!
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A Alemanha participou dos Jogos Olímpicos de Inverno da Juventude de 2012, realizados em Innsbruck, na Áustria. A delegação nacional contou com um total de cinquenta e cinco atletas, que disputaram quinze modalidades diferentes.

Os atletas alemães conquistaram um total de 17 medalhas, sendo 8 de ouro, 7 de prata e 2 de bronze, conquistando assim  a liderança no quadro de medalhas dos jogos.

Medalhistas

Ligações externas
 Atletas por país nos Jogos Olímpicos de Inverno da Juventude

Países nos Jogos Olímpicos de Inverno da Juventude de 2012
Inverno 2012
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Home > Mental Health Info Sheets > Children/Youth Who Hear Voices: Information for Family and Caregivers
Children/Youth Who Hear Voices: Information for Family and Caregivers
Summary: Hearing voices is actually quite a common experience and it is estimated that 5-15% of people will hear voices at some point in their lives. If you or a loved one are hearing voices, it is important to speak with a health professional to ensure that it is not a sign of more severe problems. However, in most cases, hearing voices does not indicate severe psychiatric illness. Because people with voices are often experiencing stress, one can start by being grateful to the voices for letting us know that there is stress. There are many ways to deal with voices, such as listening to the feelings that they express, and grounding techniques (focusing on one's senses such as seeing, hearing and touch).
Dave's Story
Dave is a 10-yo boy who has started to hear voices. He has always been somewhat quiet, and not been that talkative about his thoughts and feelings. The voices appear triggered when he is under more stress, e.g. conflicts with classmates or not understanding work at school. When he is angry, the voices are angry. When he is feeling good, the voices are nice…
How Common are Voices?
Studies show that voices are quite common, though the exact numbers vary depending on the study:
At a single point in time
About 2-3% of the general population hears voices (Tien, 1991)
In children, a study showed that 8% of children reported hearing voices.
At any point in one's life
5-15% of people will report hearing voices (Romme & Escher, 2001)
Most people who hear voices do not require mental health care.
Of the people who hear voices:
Most (⅔) are able to cope well enough that they do not require psychiatric care, nor do they receive any psychiatric diagnosis. In these individuals, a common theme is that they accept the voices, and see them as advisors and messengers of some feeling or stress.
Some (⅓) end up being seen by mental health services and become patients. In patients, voices are generally not accepted and seen as troublesome, distressing symptoms to be eliminated.
Who Hears Voices?
Hearing voices can occur in many situations such as:
Children who are otherwise fine.
Trauma and dissociative disorders
Even amongst professionals, there is often a misconception that voices automatically mean a condition such as schizophrenia, but it is important to realize that voices can occur in many different situations.
What People Say About Their Voices
According to a study of 153 people who heard voices (Woods, 2015):
Most (80% in one study) report hearing more than one voice, with 70% stating that they heard specific characters
50% report their voices were sounds that they had heard
50% felt the voices were more like thoughts, or somewhere between sounds and thoughts
50% felt the voices were more like a voice
66% reported feeling bodily sensations (e.g. tingling or hot sensations in the hands or feet) while hearing voices)
Self-Help for Voices: How to Support Your Child/Youth with Voices
Lifestyle strategies.
Help your child/youth by ensuring that they:
Get enough sleep. The average person in modern society does not get enough sleep. Ensure that your child is handing in the electronics to parents and getting to sleep at an early enough time.
Avoid caffeine or stimulants. Stimulants such as caffeine or nicotine (from cigarettes) can worsen voices.
Have a healthy diet, without too much sugar or artificial processed foods. In some individuals, artificial sweeteners, or food enhancers (such as monosodium glutamate) can be overstimulating for the brain. Try avoiding processed foods to see if it makes a difference.
Avoid sensory overload or situations that cause stress. In people with voices, often things are worsened if it is too loud, too bright, too stimulating. Help create a quiet, calm environment for the person.
Nature. Get outside with your loved one as nature is soothing for the brain, ideally at least 1-hr outside daily.
Validation and acceptance
Accept that the voices may carry some message, such as expressing a feeling, or distress. Some people may have troubles being aware of how they feel. The voices might be a way of expressing that which people are unaware, or unable to express.
If the voice is an angry voice, consider that perhaps your loved one may be feeling angry about something (or worried about feeling angry), but been unable to express that.
If the voice is a critical voice, consider that perhaps your loved one feels judged and worries about not being good enough.
Gently ask your loved one if they might be having a certain feeling, and validate that it is okay to have those feelings. It is true that certain behaviours are not good (e.g. harming yourself), but you can always validate the feelings (e.g. that everyone feels sad, or angry or overwhelmed at times).
Dealing with stresses
Help your loved one identify and cope better with stresses/triggers and emotions in general. In the beginning, it can seem like voices come out of nowhere. However, often there are specific stresses or triggers for the voices, and it helps to identify those.
You might ask:
"When do the voices happen?" For example, if the voices always happen at school, it suggests there may be a stress with school.
"What else is happening around the time when the voices happen?"
"Is it possible that ___ might be a trigger?"
"Everyone has stresses. What stresses are you under at school? Work? Relationships?"
Once you have identified the stresses, try to come up with a way to deal with each stress.
Non-talking / environmental strategies
Reduce sensory overload. Some people are sensitive if things are too bright, too cluttered, too loud, too stimulating. Especially if your loved one is getting upset, it may be helpful to:
Reduce background noise
Keep your voice quiet -- many people are exquisitely sensitive and can be triggered if others raise their voice, or even change their tone of voice.
Ask others to give some space.
Try soothing sensory input, such as cuddling a pet, a heavy blanket, giving a back rub. Its best to do this after you've already discussed this ahead of time.
Grounding strategies.
Grounding techniques help the brain to get focused on compelling sensory input rather than the hallucinations. When you notice your loved one starting to get stressed, consider grounding strategies such as:
"5-4-3-2-1" exercise.
If your child is upset, here are some things that parents can say to guide them through the grounding exercise:
Orient your child in case your child is disoriented
Parent: "Hello (person's name)... I'm here… It's your mom.... It's Saturday… We're at home…."
Parent: "Let's think about 5 things that we can see…"
Do something to get your loved one's mind off the voices and onto something else, such as:
Physical activity such as going for a walk with your loved one.
Mental activity such as playing a game, doing a puzzle, doing coloring, etc.
Mindfulness and relaxation activities
Do mindfulness and relaxation activities to feel calmer, which can reduce stress and thus can reduce voices such as
Apps such as Calm.com.
Other strategies that people with voices have reported as helpful are:
Agreeing to listen to the voices at certain times
Listening selectively, e.g. accepting the things you like, and ignoring other things
Sending the voices away, e.g. "Thank you. I will listen to you later!"
Review when things are calm what is working or not working to help
Do try to talk ahead of time about how you will support your child/youth when they are upset.
Don't use a strategy if it isn't working -- Don't use a strategy if it gets your loved one more upset.
Sometimes people are too overwhelmed to be able to use a strategy such as deep breathing, grounding, etc.
If so, then back off, let them know you'll check in later. Later, when the incident has subsided, problem-solve for the next time.
Don't tell your loved one to "just ignore them"; most likely, if it were that simple, your loved one wouldn't be complaining about having voices.
Don't ignore the feelings or stress that are connected to the voices.
Don't try to fight the voices or to argue with them. The voices are coming from the person's brain, and often represent parts of the person's own worries or fears.
What Happens with Voices over Time?
During one study where children hearing voices were monitored over four years, it was discovered that most (64%) of the voices disappeared as children learned to cope with their emotions and stress (Romme & Escher, 2006).
When and Where to Get Help
Is your child hearing voices, but other than appears perfectly fine?
It is still recommended to speak to a health professional at some point, in order to further explore and see if other help might be required, or if it is fine to just keep an eye on things.
See if there is a local Hearing Voices Network chapter. If not, learn about the Hearing Voices Movement, and the coping strategies espoused by the movement.
Are the voices causing distress? Are there other symptoms such as:
Visual hallucinations, such as seeing things;
Paranoia (i.e. worries that s/he is unsafe or in danger);
Troubles functioning at home, school or work.
Disorganized thinking or speech that doesn't make sense.
If so, then it is highly recommended to seek help sooner than later.
Contact your family physician, a mental health walk-in clinic, or even a crisis line (in order to learn about where to find help in your area.)
How are Voices Treated?
Are the voices causing problems, and haven't responded to various strategies such as talk therapy and coping strategies?
If so, then medications may be prescribed by a primary care provider (e.g. family physician), psychiatrist or paediatrician.
Dave's Story, Part 2
Dave is a 10-yo boy who has started to hear voices.
Dave receives help from parents on identifying what his stresses are. It turns out that he has been upset at his father, but afraid to tell his father. He has also had some troubles with some classmates at school that have been mean to him. Now that he is able to express some of his stresses more easily, his parents are more easily able to support him. They learn together about what triggers his voices, and he learns to express when he is starting to get upset or stressed. Through openly talking to parents about his problems, and by seeing that parents accept him despite his problems, he learns to accept himself as well, i.e. self-compassion.
Dave is doing much better now -- the angry voices haven't been around for a long time, and when there is a voice, it is a gentle, kind forgiving voice that helps him regulate his feelings -- for example, if he makes a mistake, the voice will say, "It's okay, everyone makes mistakes."
Hearing Voices Network – self-help group for people hearing voices. Although originally based in the United Kingdom, there are a growing number of chapters outside the UK.
http://www.hearing-voices.org.uk/
Self-Compassion for Voices - Wonderful video illustrating a self-compassionate approach to dealing with voices
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRqI4lxuXAw
Eaton, W., Romanoski, A., Anthony, J., Nestadt, G. (1991) Screening for psychosis in the general population with a self report interview, Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. 179(11), pp 689-693. About 4% of the population has prolonged auditory hallucinations, with 16% meeting diagnosis of schizophrenia, and 45% having psychiatric diagnosis. Most (55%) cases of hearing voices did not meet the criteria for a psychiatric diagnosis.
Romme, M., Escher, S. (2001). Making Sense of Voices. London: Mind.
Romme M. A. J., Escher S. D. M. (2006). Trauma and hearing voices, in Trauma and Psychosis: New Directions for Theory and Therapy, eds Morrison A., Larkin W., editors, p 162–192.
Tien, A et al. (1991). Distribution of hallucinations in the population, Journal of Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, No.26, pp. 287-292. Survey of 15,000 people in Baltimore, St Louis and Los Angeles showed prolonged auditory hallucinations (i.e. voices heard regularly and continuously) by 2-4% of the general population.
Woods A, Jones N, Alderson-Day B, Callard F, Fernyhough C. Experiences of hearing voices: analysis of a novel phenomenological survey. The Lancet Psychiatry. Vol 2(4), p323-331, Apr 2015. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S221... by members of the eMentalHealth.ca team. Special thanks to Noah Spector, Registered Social Worker and Crisis Intervention Worker.
Under a Creative Commons License. You are free to share, copy and distribute this work as in its entirety, with no alterations. This work may not be used for commercial purposes. View the full license at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/
Coping, Crisis and Safety Plans: How to Make One
Schizophrenia: Information for Consumers, Families and Caregivers
Date Posted: Sep 8, 2016
Date of Last Revision: Oct 11, 2020
What is Coping, Crisis and Safety Planning? Life isn't always easy -- in fact, it can get pretty stressful sometimes. During times of stress, it becomes hard to think and deal with things. The solution? A Coping Plan is a helpful tool where you have written down ahead of time, possible stresses that might happen, and what you and your support network can do to support you. The plan is created ahead of time, when people are calm. It is not done during a crisis, when people are upset and unable to think clearly. A Coping Plan can also help during a crisis (which is why it might be called a Crisis ...
Introduction Grounding is a type of coping strategy that "grounds" people in the present moment and is a form of mindfulness. When you become overwhelmed by flashbacks or dissociation, it is as if the brain forgets where you are, and you become transported to past times when you felt unsafe. Grounding strategies help the brain refocus on the present. There are two main types of grounding strategies: Sensory, e.g. Using strong sensory input to bring one back to reality and the present moment (e.g. listening to loud music, biting a lemon, holding a piece of ice)Cognitive, e.g. Doing an activity requiring one's focused ...
Introduction Schizophrenia is a serious brain disorder that causes changes in a person's thoughts, perceptions, emotions and behaviours. It can make someone hear or see things that others cannot see. It can make someone feel unsafe, afraid, and lead to avoiding other people, and loss of function. Without proper treatment, it can cause serious problems with school, work and relationships. Fortunately, help is available for those with schizophrenia. In addition, there are many things that family and friends can do to support their loved ones with schizophrenia. Do I Have Schizophrenia? The following is a list of some symptoms of ...
What medications are used to treat schizophrenia? Antipsychotic medications are used to treat schizophrenia and schizophrenia-related disorders. Some of these medications have been available since the mid-1950's. They are also called conventional "typical" antipsychotics. Some of the more commonly used medications include: Chlorpromazine (Thorazine) Ha...
What medications are used to treat schizophrenia?
Antipsychotic medications are used to treat schizophrenia and schizophrenia-related disorders. Some of these medications have been available since the mid-1950's. They are also called conventional "typical" antipsychotics. Some of the more commonly used medications include:
Chlorpromazine (Thorazine)
Haloperidol (Haldol)
Perphenazine (generic only)
Fluphenazine (generic only).
In the 1990's, new antipsychotic medications were developed. These new medications are called second generation, or "atypical" antipsychotics.
One of these medications was clozapine (Clozaril). It is a very effective medication that treats psychotic symptoms, hallucinations, and breaks with reality, such as when a person believes he or she is the president. But clozapine can sometimes cause a serious problem called agranulocytosis, which is a loss of the white blood cells that help a person fight infection. Therefore, people who take clozapine must get their white blood cell counts checked every week or two. This problem and the cost of blood tests make treatment with clozapine difficult for many people. Still, clozapine is potentially helpful for people who do not respond to other antipsychotic medications.
Other atypical antipsychotics were developed. All of them are effective, and none cause agranulocytosis. These include:
Risperidone (Risperdal)
Olanzapine (Zyprexa)
Quetiapine (Seroquel)
Ziprasidone (Geodon)
Aripiprazole (Abilify)
Paliperidone (Invega).
The antipsychotics listed here are some of the medications used to treat symptoms of schizophrenia. Additional antipsychotics and other medications used for schizophrenia are listed in the chart at the end.
Note: The FDA issued a Public Health Advisory for atypical antipsychotic medications. The FDA determined that death rates are higher for elderly people with dementia when taking this medication. A review of data has found a risk with conventional antipsychotics as well. Antipsychotic medications are not FDA-approved for the treatment of behavioral disorders in patients with dementia.
Some people have side effects when they start taking these medications. Most side effects go away after a few days and often can be managed successfully. People who are taking antipsychotics should not drive until they adjust to their new medication. Side effects of many antipsychotics include:
Dizziness when changing positions
Rapid heartbeat
Sensitivity to the sun
Menstrual problems for women.
Atypical antipsychotic medications can cause major weight gain and changes in a person's metabolism. This may increase a person's risk of getting diabetes and high cholesterol.1 A person's weight, glucose levels, and lipid levels should be monitored regularly by a doctor while taking an atypical antipsychotic medication.
Typical antipsychotic medications can cause side effects related to physical movement, such as:
Restlessness.
Long-term use of typical antipsychotic medications may lead to a condition called tardive dyskinesia (TD). TD causes muscle movements a person can't control. The movements commonly happen around the mouth. TD can range from mild to severe, and in some people the problem cannot be cured. Sometimes people with TD recover partially or fully after they stop taking the medication.
Every year, an estimated 5 percent of people taking typical antipsychotics get TD. The condition happens to fewer people who take the new, atypical antipsychotics, but some people may still get TD. People who think that they might have TD should check with their doctor before stopping their medication.
How are antipsychotics taken and how do people respond to them?
Antipsychotics are usually pills that people swallow, or liquid they can drink. Some antipsychotics are shots that are given once or twice a month.
Symptoms of schizophrenia, such as feeling agitated and having hallucinations, usually go away within days. Symptoms like delusions usually go away within a few weeks. After about six weeks, many people will see a lot of improvement.
However, people respond in different ways to antipsychotic medications, and no one can tell beforehand how a person will respond. Sometimes a person needs to try several medications before finding the right one. Doctors and patients can work together to find the best medication or medication combination, and dose.
Some people may have a relapse—their symptoms come back or get worse. Usually, relapses happen when people stop taking their medication, or when they only take it sometimes. Some people stop taking the medication because they feel better or they may feel they don't need it anymore. But no one should stop taking an antipsychotic medication without talking to his or her doctor. When a doctor says it is okay to stop taking a medication, it should be gradually tapered off, never stopped suddenly.
How do antipsychotics interact with other medications?
Antipsychotics can produce unpleasant or dangerous side effects when taken with certain medications. For this reason, all doctors treating a patient need to be aware of all the medications that person is taking. Doctors need to know about prescription and over-the-counter medicine, vitamins, minerals, and herbal supplements. People also need to discuss any alcohol or other drug use with their doctor.
To find out more about how antipsychotics work, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) funded a study called CATIE (Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness). This study compared the effectiveness and side effects of five antipsychotics used to treat people with schizophrenia. In general, the study found that the older medication perphenazine worked as well as the newer, atypical medications. But because people respond differently to different medications, it is important that treatments be designed carefully for each person. You can find more information on CATIE here.
Reprints:
This publication is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission from NIMH. We encourage you to reproduce it and use it in your efforts to improve public health. Citation of the National Institute of Mental Health as a source is appreciated. However, using government materials inappropriately can raise legal or ethical concerns, so we ask you to use these guidelines:
NIMH does not endorse or recommend any commercial products, processes, or services, and our publications may not be used for advertising or endorsement purposes.
NIMH does not provide specific medical advice or treatment recommendations or referrals; our materials may not be used in a manner that has the appearance of providing such information.
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Addition of non-Federal Government logos and Web site links may not have the appearance of NIMH endorsement of any specific commercial products or services or medical treatments or services.
If you have questions regarding these guidelines and use of NIMH publications, please contact the NIMH Information Center at 1-866-615-6464 or e-mail at [email protected]
The photos in this publication are of models and are used for illustrative purposes only.
NIH Publication No. 08-3929
Revised 2008
I am writing to give you an update regarding your student. Your student is coping with psychosis, which is a brain condition that affects thinking and concentration. Accommodations are essential for this student to function in the academic program. Specific accommodations will need to be devised for this student in collaboration with the youth and family. A general...
I am writing to give you an update regarding your student.
Your student is coping with psychosis, which is a brain condition that affects thinking and concentration.
Accommodations are essential for this student to function in the academic program. Specific accommodations will need to be devised for this student in collaboration with the youth and family. A general list includes the following:
Support Re-Integration
Ensuring that educators are aware that this student is going through a difficult period, so that they can be more understanding, i.e. that any current difficulties in learning are more because of an illness, rather than an attitude problem or poor parenting
Designate key school personnel (e.g. resource teacher, guidance counselor, etc.) to regularly meet and check in with the student to see how things are going
Do not expect this student to be able to take the initiative in going to teachers; rather, teachers should take the initiative in checking with the student
Specific areas to ask would include:
How are things going?
What's going well?
What's not going well, i.e. what is stressful?
Is there anything we can do to problem-solve this stress?
Reduce sensory stress
Work with the student to come up with a way for the student to let you know when s/he is becoming overwhelmed by sensory stress
Agree upon a low-stimulation, quiet, soothing place where the student can go if s/he is starting to feel overwhelmed
This student has problems with sensory stress, in that this student can be easily overwhelmed by seemling normal levels of sensory input
Auditory stress
Give advance notice of fire drills
Allow her to use ear plugs in class
Allow her to sit nearer the front of class (if she desires)
Provide quiet places when needed for intense work
Visual stress
Allow her to wear baseball cap or sweatshirt with a hood (in order to block out fluorescent light)
Consider glasses that automatically darken with glare
Tactile stress
Due to the stress of bumping into peers during busy hallway times, give her the option of going between classes when it is less busy
Do not touch this student unexpectedly or without permission
Accommodations for thinking difficulties
Accept that the student may require more time for doing school work as well as for tests
Medications are often prescribed for this student's condition
If the student appears tired and drowsy, realize that this may be an unavoidable medication side effect, and is not the student's fault
Help monitor for worsening
If you notice that this student's function is worsening, then inform parents
Thank you for your time. Feel free to contact me if you have any further questions!
To whom it may concern: I would like to give you an update regarding this individual. Unfortunately, your employee has been off-work due to a health condition. Fortunately, your employee is feeling better, and would like to return to work. The following section has a list of common recommendations that may maximize the chances of a suc...
I would like to give you an update regarding this individual.
Unfortunately, your employee has been off-work due to a health condition.
Fortunately, your employee is feeling better, and would like to return to work.
The following section has a list of common recommendations that may maximize the chances of a successful return to work, which are in both employee and employer's best interests.
The suggested recommendations are only a general guide, and it is always best to speak with the employee and customize the recommendations for your specific employer/employee situation.
Recommended Accommodations/Modifications for Employers
A flexible schedule that has
Flex-time or a part-time position
Time off for scheduled medical appointments
Workspace where visual and auditory distractions are minimized.
Visual sensitivity: Too much visual stimulation, which may include visual clutter, or bright lighting (e.g. fluorescent lighting) may be stressful. Allow the employee to make accommodations if necessary such as dimmer lighting, or wear a cap to block out overhead ambient light.
Auditory sensitivity: Too much sounds may be stressful.
Flexible break times that meet the individual's needs rather than following a fixed schedule. As with a worker with back pain, if a worker is feeling overwhelmed, it is sometimes the case that the worker will need to immediately sit down, rather than keep on working and risk re-injuring his/her back. Thus, ideally the work can be structured so that if absolutely necessary, the worker can take more flexible breaks, depending on how the worker is doing that day.
Additional leave from work after a hospitalization. With the current trend towards shorter and shorter inpatient hospital admissions, even if your employee has been discharged from hospital, it does not mean that your employee is ready for work. Most of the time, there is additional time at home that is required for the patient's recovery.
Giving the employee opportunities to phone his/her health professionals during the day if necessary. From time to time, your employee may be needing to contact his/her health care team during the daytime, for issues such as making medication adjustments, discussing side effects. Allowing your worker those opportunities will help your employee to stay healthy, ultimately resulting in less sick days.
Giving the employee opportunities to meet regularly with his/her employer and/or supervisor, and/or job coach.
CAMESA Guidelines
The Canadian Alliance for Monitoring Effectiveness and Safety of Antipsychotics in Children (CAMESA) guidelines provide parents and doctors with information about the side effects of antipsychotic drugs in children.
Audience: Public (www.ementalhealth.ca), Primary Care (primarycare.ementalhealth.ca)
Schizophrenia Society of Canada website
The website of the Schizophrenia Society of Canada offers various resources including: * Resources and links * Links, such as links to videos * Magazines * Articles
Schizophrenia Society of Canada
Resource type: Movies and videos, Printed materials including handouts, brochures and books, Websites including blogs, support forums
A Sibling's Guide to Psychosis
A guide providing information, ideas and resources to siblings of young people with psychosis, guided by the reflections and experiences of siblings themselves.
EarlyPsychosis.ca
Website from the Fraser Health Early Psychosis Intervention (EPI) Program. The site promotes early detection, educates about psychosis and provides direction for seeking help.
Help4Psychosis
Psychosis can be treated, early detection helps, and recovery is expected. The Early Psychosis Intervention Ontario Network (EPION) provides support, information, and care for people suffering from psychosis.
Early Psychosis Intervention Ontario Network (EPION)
La schizophrénie: Description des symptômes et modèle de comportement à domicile
Cette brochure a pour but d'aider les parents, l'entourage d'une personne atteinte de schizophrénie à comprendre les symptômes de la maladie. Nous voulons suggérer des modèles de comportement face aux symptômes pour faciliter les relations, la compréhension entre la personne et ses proches. Cette brochure veut identifier les situations où la personne a besoin de votre aide et surtout de votre compréhension.
Map of the Mind Fields: Managing Adolescent Psychosis
Video about psychosis, a brain disorder where an individual experiences some loss of contact with reality. Symptoms include hallucinations, delusions, paranoia and disorganized thoughts and speech. Three people share their personal stories: Amanda, 16, Max, 12, and Tara, 18. 2004, 56 min 30 s Directed by Nijole Kuzmickas Produced by Sharon Bartlett Maria LeRose
Knowledge Network Corporation
Psychological Health and Safety: An Action Guide for Employers
New tool to protect the mental health of employees, providing steps and actions that are accessible to all Canadian employers.
Mental Health Commission of Canada
Travel and Mental Health
Useful guides to mental health for travellers, particularly for those with pre-existing mental health needs. Guides on various topics such as Travel Stress, Depression & Mood Changes, Substance Use, Anxiety and Psychosis.
International Association for Medical Assistance to Travellers
UHN Patient Information Handouts
Handouts on various mental health conditions, available in English and many available in other languages such as Spanish and Chinese.
When Your Brother or Sister Has Psychosis
Fact sheet for those who have a sibling with psychosis.
British Columbia Schizophrenia Society
Intervoice is the International Network for Training, Education and Research into Hearing Voices. The network accepts that hearing voices is a normal variation ... more
AB, United Kingdom
http://www.intervoiceonline.org/
Area Served: World
Screening Tools on eMentalHealth.ca
Psychosis (including schizophrenia)
is a serious condition that can cause problems with confused thinking and hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that others cannot). It can also make a person feel that others are out to harm them, which is a particularly frightening.
Youth/transitional age
Produced By Canadian Alliance for Monitoring Effectiveness and Safety of Antipsychotic Medications in Children (CAMESA)
Ages Served All ages
Website http://camesaguideline.org
Canadian Guidelines for the Pharmacological Treatment of Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders in Children and Youth.
Produced By Canadian Psychiatric Association (CPA)
Ages Served Up to 18 years
Website http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28764...
Early Psychosis: A Guide for Physicians
Direct Download EarlyPsychosis_PhysicianGuide.pdf
Produced By University of British Columbia
Website http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/library/publ...
Practice Parameter for the Assessment and Treatment of Children and Adolescents With Schizophrenia
Produced By American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP)
Website http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/member_info...
Schizophrenia (update)
Produced By National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)
Website http://guidance.nice.org.uk/cg82
Treatment of Patients with Schizophrenia
Produced By American Psychiatric Association (APA)
Ages Served 18 years and up
Website http://psychiatryonline.org/guidelines.a...


Isa Gucciardi is the Founding Director and lead teacher of the Foundation of the Sacred Stream. The workshops and training programs of the Foundation are part of her larger vision for helping people who are interested in stepping into greater consciousness and leading happier lives. Her primary focus is on teaching, writing, and curriculum development. Isa is also the creator of the groundbreaking therapeutic model, Depth Hypnosis, which is born from her studies in transpersonal psychology, cultural and linguistic anthropology, comparative religion, hypnotherapy, and transformational healing. Isa has lived in eleven countries and she speaks five languages. The mother of two children, she is a potter and gardener, a stained glass artist, a piano enthusiast, and an herbalist. In addition to her busy teaching schedule, she has an active Depth Hypnosis counseling and consulting practice in San Francisco, CA.


The first law of motion states that an object in rest or uniform motion in a straight line will remain in that motion until an external force is applied to it.
The second law of motion states that the rate of change of momentum of an object is proportional to unbalanced force applied and its direction.
The third law of motion states that one object exerts a force on another object,the second object instaneously exerts a force back on the first.These two forces are always equal in magnitude but opposite in direction.
These forces act on different objects and never on the same object.The two opposing forces are also known as action and reaction forces.These forces may not produce accelerations of equal magnitude.This is because each force acts on a different object that may have a different mass.To every action,there is an equal and opposite reaction.


text:
Q: Making a Unique Indicator Column in Pandas Based off of Two Columns This has been a tricky one for me. So my data structure is roughly the following:

column_1
column_2

111
a

111
a

111
a

111
a

111
b

111
b

222
a

222
b

222
b

222
b

222
b

222
b

I want to get to this in the most efficient way possible from a processing perspective:

column_1
column_2
unique_id

111
a
1

111
a
2

111
a
3

111
a
4

111
b
1

111
b
2

222
a
1

222
b
1

222
b
2

222
b
3

222
b
4

222
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5

In summary I want to create a column that will turn each row into a unique occurrence. The preference is that this unique_id column starts at 1 for each new combination of column_1 and column_2.


text:
Henry Stuart ist der Name folgender Personen:

* Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (1545–1567), Ehemann von Maria Stuart, Titularkönig von Schottland
 Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester (1640–1660), Sohn von Karl I. von England
 Henry Stuart (Politiker) (1804–1854), britischer Politiker
 Henry Stuart (Schauspieler) (eigentlich Court Hess; 1885–1948), Schweizer Schauspieler, Filmregisseur und Drehbuchautor
 Henry Villiers-Stuart, 1. Baron Stuart de Decies (1803–1874), britischer Adliger und Politiker
 Henry Benedict Stuart (1725–1807), britischer Kardinal und Thronprätendent
 Henry Carter Stuart (1855–1933), US-amerikanischer Politiker
 Henry Frederick Stuart, Prince of Wales (1594–1612), englischer Prince of Wales
 Henry Windsor Villiers Stuart (1827–1895), britischer Politiker und Ägyptologe

Siehe auch:
 Henry Stewart


Dear prospective investors, land and home owners, Valentine season is upon us. A time to show love and give gifts to the beautiful people in our lives, those we truly care about. What more could better a long-lasting gift that generations would always remember and be grateful about. An almost perfect gift that doesn't depreciate nor impair; Real Estate. The out-gone Christmas season was a beautiful one for most homes as the recently season brought so many people gift they've dreamt of all of their lives. Santa ensured the delivery via our just concluded Lemon Friday Promo. We had tons of people subscribing to our different product suites, as it was one of the best gifts Santa had in its offing.
Over the holidays however, just after the Lemon Friday promo came to an end, professional estate valuers came visiting all of our estates and we did ask them for a revaluation of our current assets. After the exercise, it was found that they have increased by not less than 50%. I mean, a whopping 50%! This meant that all subscribers into our estates just got a 50% increase on the value of their original investments with us. Wouldn't you rather be a part of such!?
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The ADRON Lemon De Val Promo is a special promo offer for the valentine season and we are giving away as much as 20% off our current rates for single prospects who'd like to be a part of any of our portfolio and as much as 30% off those who'd be paying outright on any of our lands or couples plannning to subscribing at the venue of our Lemon De Val Promo party in either Lagos or Abuja.
With all these bountiful offers, which I am definitely certain you can't get from anywhere else, make this Valentine season a memorable one for you and your loved ones. SUBSCRIBE NOW and join the list of satisfied home owners with us.
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text:
Gustaf Aulén, Lundensian Theologian
by Fred Sanders on May 15, 2009
Gustaf Aulén (born this day, May 15, 1879; died 1977) was the Lutheran bishop of Strängnäs, Sweden, and the leading figure in a loosely-defined movement within twentieth-century theology called the Lundensian Theology. The other major figures in the movement were Anders Nygren, Ragnar Bring, and, at a distance, Regin Prenter. The label Lundensian, which is not a perfect fit, points back to the origin of this theological mindset in the theology faculty at the University of Lund.
There are two main features of the Lundensian theology movement. First was its attempt to mediate between conservative Lutheranism as found in the Swedish state churches on the one hand, and the high liberalism of the nineteenth century, which was such an irresistible force in European academy theology, on the other hand. Second was its conviction that all God's ways and works find their best expression in the work of Martin Luther.
The first feature threatens to position the Lundensians as compromisers, mediating between liberal and conservative, between academy and church. All self-consciously mediating theologies invite certain attendant miseries and mushinesses. But Bishop Aulén also liked a good fight, and was a good strategic thinker in what he viewed as a pitched battle against the suicide of Christian conviction in high liberalism. Even if Aulén's work is in some ways not satisfying for evangelicals today, he struck a mighty blow against the liberalism of his time at several decisive points.
The second feature may seem sectarian, since in every Aulén book you can count on all roads leading to Luther eventually. But Aulén (and Nygren as well) thought that Luther belonged to the entire ecumenical church, and worked hard to present the riches of his Lutheran heritage as a gift to the whole Christian world.
Both features are prominent in Aulén's most famous book, Christus Victor: An Historical Study of the Three Main Types of the Atonement.
There is a trope, even a cliche, of modern theological thought which goes like this: The early church in its classic period settled the issues of Trinity and Incarnation, but made no consensual statements about Atonement, recognizing instead a variety of biblical motifs on the subject. As a result, there is no such thing as THE doctrine of the atonement, and the history of Christian doctrine has given rise to a variety of theologies of the atonement. The next step for this conventional approach is to set out a typology of different kinds of atonement theology. Aulén may not have invented this approach, but his Christus Victor is the modern classic on the subject.
By now, there are so many typologies of atonement theology that I have even seen a a meta-typology, a typology of the typologies. Perhaps this is the unavoidable way that we must approach the doctrine (though it often seems more like a failure of nerve). One thing to notice is that whoever sets out a typology of atonement theologies is already making some important decisions about what counts.
Aulén was no exception. His "three main types" of the idea of atonement are the objective type associated with Anselm (satisfaction of God's honor), the subjective type associated with Abelard (moral influence by transcendent example), and the classic type associated with Luther (Jesus defeats the enemies of God and man). This typology is designed to push the subjective, moral influence view of the atonement out to the margin of Christian faith. That is, Aulén describes this liberal view as so incidental to the core of authentic Christianity that he marginalizes it by his description of it. That enacts the first feature of the Lundensian theology, its protest against liberalism. The second feature, in which the ecumenical Luther saves the day, is also conspicuous in the typology: What Aulén calls "the classic view" of Christus Victor is all over the Bible and the church fathers, but is classically stated and put back in its central place by the Reformer Martin Luther.
Aulén's little book has many problems and limitations, but his approach to the doctrine has been taken as an inescapable point of reference from the time it first appeared. It is very well written and compellingly argued, so it is still worth reading even for those of us who don't find all we need for a robustly biblical atonement theology in his typological handling of the doctrine.
Aulén also wrote a one-volume systematic theology called The Faith of the Christian Church, which is just under 500 pages and was widely used in Protestant seminaries for some time. It has Aulén's characteristic clarity and is a stimulating work, but the methodological sections I have read seem to drift back in the direction of Schleiermacher's liberalism a bit.
Aulén also wrote a disappointing book with the promising title The Drama and the Symbols, but I have never been able to profit much from it. In 1971, Robert Jenson started his review of the book with a classic, Jensonian book review zinger:
Aulén's book can best be recommended as a convenient, true-to-type, and not too rigorous sample of one modern way of doing theology. It is a way of which I disapprove entirely…
Why Protestants Should Read Thomas Aquinas (3: Skill in Reasoning)
Famous Last Words (for Biola's Class of 2009)


28/06/2006 · If the selection menu only lists "integrated graphics," close the browser window immediately and find another model that offers real video card options. Graphics …... Dead by Daylight GPU Analysis Comparing Dead by Daylight PC system requirements to all GPUs shows that Dead by Daylight is going to need a graphics card that is capable of DX 11 or OpenGL 4.3 .
If OP gets video via the motherboards/CPU's integrated graphics, that is a pretty big sign that something is wrong with the graphics card. and if no video is gotten there, it is an indicator that something else on the build is at fault.
13/01/2019 · I have a 2011 Imac 27", graphics card appears dead, first was just white screen, and now no screen on bootup, but I can hear it booting up, hard drive making usual boot up sounds and fans etc. Problem is I want to sell it but I can't get hard drive wiped.


text:
New ESPN guidelines recognize connection between sports, politics
4yJim Brady, ESPN Public Editor
The Common Sense approach to social media
4yJim Brady, Public Editor
Reader questions: Redskins, GameDay, QBR and sensationalism
ESPN should be transparent as it experiments with remote broadcasts
Inside and out, ESPN dealing with changing political dynamics
Jim Brady, ESPN Public Editor
ESPN has issued new political and election guidelines for its employees that, while allowing for political discussion on the network's platforms, recommend connecting those comments to sports whenever possible. The new policies also provide separate guidelines for ESPN staffers working on news and those engaging in commentary.
The timing of the release of the election guidelines is a bit unusual -- such guidelines are rarely released right after a presidential election; they're usually updated near the beginning of a presidential campaign. But we are living in unique political times, which ESPN apparently recognized, which explains the revised guidelines for discussion of political and social issues.
"Given the intense interest in the most recent presidential election and the fact subsequent political and social discussions often intersected with the sports world, we found it to be an appropriate time to review our guidelines," said Patrick Stiegman, ESPN's vice president of global digital content and the chairman of the company's internal Editorial Board, which drafted the new guidelines.
Stiegman said no single issue or incident led to the change, but Craig Bengtson, ESPN's vice president and managing editor of newsgathering and reporting, said the nation's tense political climate did play a role.
"We have the convergence of a politically charged environment and all these new technologies coming together at once," he said. "Based on that, we wanted the policy to reflect the reality of the world today. There are people talking about politics in ways we have not seen before, and we're not immune from that."
Stiegman said the new election guidelines are no longer just targeted at presidential elections. "We simply extended our approach to covering presidential elections every four years to major elections, in general, believing all the same principles should apply," Stiegman said.
So what's different in the new policies? Let's start with the Political and Social Issues guidelines. Its first line lays out ESPN's challenge quite accurately:
"At ESPN, our reputation and credibility with viewers, readers and listeners are paramount. Related to political and social issues, our audiences should be confident our original reporting of news is not influenced by political pressures or personal agendas."
As I wrote in November, not all ESPN consumers -- or employees, for that matter -- feel the company has lived up to this ideal. Stiegman said that the buzz around the topic of ESPN and politics -- also written about by The New York Times, Awful Announcing, the Orlando Sentinel and many conservative sites criticizing ESPN's perceived leftward tilt -- didn't play a significant role in the revision of the guidelines.
The two most notable changes from the Political Advocacy policy are the delineation of guidelines between news and commentary, and allowing for increased political discussion on ESPN platforms, as warranted and connected to sports. This isn't a surprising development, it's just new.
"We wanted to err on the side of transparency and trust with our reporting," Stiegman said, "but also give our columnists and commentators the freedom to discuss topics relevant to those sports fans who visit our platforms, even if the issues are political or social in nature."
Here are other notable points in the Political and Social Issues policy, with my thoughts:
"Original news reports should not include statements of support, opposition or partisanship related to any social issue, political position, candidate or office holder."
This one seems straightforward and achievable, at least within ESPN's platforms. The one place on ESPN in which you don't see straight opinion is on the hard news side of the operation.
"Writers, reporters, producers and editors directly involved in 'hard' news reporting, investigative or enterprise assignments and related coverage should refrain in any public-facing forum from taking positions on political or social issues, candidates or office holders."
The three key words here are "public-facing forum." That expands this policy beyond ESPN's borders and brings the Wild West of social media into play. In fact, later in the memo, it is said directly that the policy applies to "ESPN, Twitter, Facebook and other media."
This is where the potential for problems exists. ESPN news reporters tweeting political opinions from their own social accounts would technically violate this policy. Again, hard news reporters are less likely to use social media for this purpose than commentators, but how effective this policy is will depend on how hard executives choose to look at social media. Let's be honest: It's not too hard to find ESPN employees tweeting political opinions. Yes, much of that activity does fall within the new guidelines, which also note that those who do publicly express political views could be reassigned when covering stories. But the propriety of other posts is a tad murkier.
"Outside of 'hard' news reporting, commentary related to political or social issues, candidates or office holders is appropriate on ESPN platforms consistent with these guidelines."
This is meaningful because, unlike the company's previous policy, it states that commentary on political and social issues is OK. The previous policy not only didn't say that but also conveyed a tone that suggested that dipping into political waters carried more danger than reward. Put another way, the new policy has gone from "It's dangerous out there, so probably best to stay home" to "It's dangerous out there, so here are some tools to best keep you safe."
"It's a more positive, proactive stance," Bengtson said. "If there's a good reason to be discussing [politics], here's how we can best help you do that to best help our audience."
"The topic should be related to a current issue impacting sports. This condition may vary for content appearing on platforms with broader editorial missions -- such as The Undefeated, FiveThirtyEight and espnW. Other exceptions must be approved in advance by senior editorial management."
The statement that topics should relate to sports is also new, though Stiegman left some wiggle room on that point. "We want to emphasize a direct connection to sports, understanding that's the lens through which most fans view ESPN," he said. "We also understand there may occasionally be exceptions that reference important, broader political topics. We just want to ensure those are thoughtful discussions, and meet the other criteria in the guidelines."
Said Bengtson: "I don't think people are turning us on to hear us talk about social and political issues. When we can make a connection with sports, we should do so and do it smartly."
"The presentation should be thoughtful and respectful. We should offer balance or recognize opposing views, as warranted. We should avoid personal attacks and inflammatory rhetoric."
What is a "personal attack" and what's considered "inflammatory"? As with many journalistic policy questions, those are subjective. And in policies like these, that can lead to caution.
"There is always a layer of subjectivity in such areas," Stiegman said. "Editors and producers will work with those offering opinions on these topics to ensure the dialogue and debate is thoughtful, respectful and as fair as possible."
The changes to the Elections guidelines are far less significant (see previous policy here), but there were a few changes of note.
"All interviews, features, enterprise efforts or produced pieces involving candidates must first be approved by senior management. This is to ensure a coordinated and fair effort, and includes considerations as to location, interviewer, timing and format."
The interesting note here is what was removed from the previous version of the policy, which said, "All interviews, features, enterprise efforts or produced pieces with a sports angle, including attempts at humor (emphasis mine) involving candidates must first be approved by senior management team."
While this may seem to be in conflict with the guideline in the Political and Social Issues policy, I suspect the real reason it was deleted was to make sure employees understand that it applies to all political topics, not just those relating to sports.
It'll be interesting to see whether this new policy has an impact. These changes appear to be designed to remind employees of ESPN's invaluable and lucrative connection to sports while also acknowledging -- rightfully, in my opinion -- that sports, culture and politics overlap in ways that cannot be ignored. But, in the end, the effectiveness of policies is usually related to the intensity of the enforcement.


Being a famous celebrity hairstylist it's your job to take care of the beautiful hair of your client celebrities. There are so many fans who want to have pictures with there favorite stars. Help them all get the best hairstyle so that they can show off to their fans and remain in the limelight.
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CSUB SRC Tennis Club members practicing at the SRC's courts on May 10. JJ Reed/The Runner
By Vincent Perez, Features Editor
Filed under Campus, Features
Evan Lostetter was a soccer forward for Liberty High School for four years. Yet, you would not find him on the pitch playing with the men's soccer team on campus.
You're more likely to see the CSU Bakersfield junior on the clay lobbing and serving tennis balls near the old dorms at CSUB.
Lostetter, a kinesiology major, is president of the SRC Tennis Club. As president, he has seen his club grow from himself and four safety officers to a successful 20-25 players at most practices.
Evan Lostetter, CSUB SRC Tennis Club president, gets ready to serve at the SRC tennis courts on May 10.
JJ Reed/The Runner
The total members have reached to 31 members within its first semester, an impressive spike of members.
The SRC Tennis Club became an officially chartered club on the first day of this spring semester, according to Lostetter, who began playing tennis only a year and half ago.
"Ed Webb in the student union was super helpful," said Lostetter. "The process is long and tedious, but he definitely helped make it do-able for the students."
"I had an idea of starting a tennis club," said Lostetter. "Madi Parks, treasurer of the club also helped."
Last semester, the tennis club competed in three on-campus competitions, at San Diego (California Sectionals) and in Fresno (West Coast Classic).
Lostetter said the most of the members of the tennis club are former high school players looking to play again. Yet, forming official tennis teams is not in his vision.
He said he wants to create a larger tennis community on campus.
"To where people feel completely safe to be around. They're super stressed with finals coming up," said Lostetter.
"Let's all come out to the tennis court and have a good time."
He said he wants players from all ranges of experience to join and play with the members. He added the members are willing to teach tennis skills.
Madi Parks, a senior kinesiology major, began playing tennis competitively two years ago and was asked by Lostetter through a mutual friend, Caitlin
Goetjen, to join because she was interested in tennis and had more than a full-time semester of units.
The tennis club on campus was formed for one reason: to have fun.
"I'm not a great player but I have fun doing it," said Parks.
"As long as we get people out there playing, that's all that matters to Evan and I."
Personal growth was something that Parks didn't expect but she got from the tennis club.
"I've developed personally," said Parks. "Through [the SRC Tennis Club] I've met people and become more involved in CSUB."
Parks said she did not enjoy her time on campus until her senior year after her involvement in the SRC Tennis Club.
"It's important because we don't have a collegiate tennis [program] anymore," said Parks.
"They should have an option to play at a club level."
Footwork is essential to tennis and, so for those with soccer backgrounds, the transition is near seamless.
"We have a lot of soccer players out there," said Lostetter. "It's a sport that seems different than [soccer] but has a lot of the same fundamentals."
Ariel Rodgers, a kinesiology major, is a safety officer in the club, met Lostetter in a shared class this semester.
"I've always been involved in sports," said Rodgers. She played soccer, softball and golf in high school.
Camaraderie is an important community aspect. "Tennis players know other tennis players," said Lostetter. "That's how we spread [word about it]– through word of mouth."
Lostetter may have started his athletic career at the age of four in soccer, but his true passion now is promoting tennis in Bakersfield.
He said that The Tennis Club received support from the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and the Kern County Tennis Association by sending collegiate tennis coaches to practices.
USTA has sent officials to the practices, said Lostetter. "The support we're getting from the tennis community is unbelievable and that has contributed to our growth."
For more information on the SRC Tennis Club, visit their Instagram or Twitter @csub_tenniscslub.
Tags: Bakersfield, CSUB, features, SRC Tennis Club


How to make a bleach for skin.
How to make a bleach for skin. Repeat the dilute bleach bath twice a week until your pediatrician tells you to stop.
Human trials have yet to be conducted.
Hello, I am new to the diy community.
Jody Cooper bleached her skin regularly for nine years—above, she's pictured at the peak of becoming what's referred to as a browning; below, Cooper today, with her natural tone.
Alicia I do agreed with you.
Although it is super quick and easy to whitewash pinecones, there are a few tips and tricks to make them look very natural, almost like real bleached pinecones instead of painted white pinecones.
Melanin is the main substance responsible for the color of the skin.
However, it is important to remember that bleach is a caustic substance and can wreak havoc on your skin if used incorrectly.
But the chance of complications—even drastic ones—doesn't seem to be severe enough to convince bleachers to stop for good.
Comments Hi Tracy, First, I love your site!
Wear gloves do what I say, not what I do… and dip each pinecone in the diluted paint.


it's lovely! i really like the 3/4 skirt!
Thanks, the 3/4 skirt is nice and swirly!
Oh, this dress is so pretty, and I just love the way it looks on you (my figure is similar to yours). Perfect for warmer seasons, yet would be nice in cooler weather with a cardigan — and pockets (yay!). Must buy!
With a cardi would be lovely. I think it would be great in a wool crepe for winter too.
Really lovely Liz. Look forward to seeing the next one.
Ooo, this is gorgeous. I absolutely love the gathered neckline, and totally agree with you about pockets in dresses!
I like the gathered necklince, some thing a bit different from the standard 4 dart bodice.
This is such a cute dress! It looks like a real wardrobe workhorse… easy to imagine wearing it all the time!
it is very easy to wear it all the time, although right now, finding it hard to get out of my comfy Hudson pants!!


Prolific Reggae act Collie Buddz is back at it once more with another banger titled "Bounce It" which serves as a follow up to his lead single "Love & Reggae". This new single follows a more energetic route as the multi-faceted producer taps into the current Afrocentric wave to deliver a resounding party jam. The Afropop ( popularly called Afrobeats to some) influenced track features Ghanian Grammy nominee Stonebwoy- who shows why he is one of the most sought after young artists coming from the West coast of Africa right now. Armed with Stonebwoys menacing flow, Buddz adds his own unique vibe into the cut and the end result is a fiery island jam.


Protests were held in 140 cities and towns across France and drew 400,000 people into the streets on October 10..
Hundreds of thousands of workers, retirees and students joined a third day of strikes and protests across France on October 10. The protests are part of ongoing efforts by unions, left parties and progressive organisations to defeat attacks on workers and the public service by President Emmanuel Macron.
Protests were held in 140 cities and towns and drew 400,000 people into the streets.
At the centre of the day was a strike called by the nine union confederations active in France's public sector. The strike was aimed at stopping the planned 120,000 job cuts in the sector.
The General Confederation of Workers (CGT) estimated participation of 30-50% across the public sector.
While the mobilised numbers sound impressive, the movement is struggling to build momentum. The mobilisations on October 10 were slightly smaller than those on September 12, although larger than the September 21 mobilisations.
More importantly, the current movement is small compared to recent mass labour mobilisations in France.
Last year's movement against the El Khomri labour laws peaked with two national mobilisations of more than one million people. The movements in 2009 and 2010 saw multiple united mobilisations that drew more than three million people into the streets.
There are several reasons for the smaller mobilisations.
One of these has been the government's use of France's undemocratic constitution to rush through emergency ordinances without a parliamentary vote. This has reduced the extent to which people see attempts to defeat the attacks as realistic.
The trade union Solidaires argued in a statement on October 12 that the present mobilisations demonstrate a widespread willingness to mobilise against the laws. However, the ability to fully engage that willingness has been undermined by divisions within the union movement as to what parts of the laws should be opposed and how they should be opposed.
The leaderships of reformist union confederations such as the French Confederation of Democratic Workers (CFDT) have been broadly supportive of sections of the legislation.
Rather than call on members to join mobilisations, they have sought to engage in dialogue with the government regarding the text of the ordinances. They have expressed concern that mobilisations against the ordinances would undermine future negotiations with the government.
The more militant unions have instead pushed a line of rejecting the changes and mobilising workers in the streets. However, they have done so inconsistently and in ways that have not taken full advantage of breaks in the CFDT's approach.
For example, when CFDT's rail federation, along with Solidaires' rail federation, called for a strike on October 10 in support of the public sector strike, the CGT's rail federation – the largest union in the railways – refused to join the strike. Instead, it encouraged members to join the protests, meaning the strike had minimal impact on rail services.
Divisions within the movement are not just a symptom of differing assessments of the attacks and how best to fight them. They also reflect a jockeying for positions by the confederations in anticipation of union representation elections next year.
The CFDT has historically been France's second confederation behind the CGT. Today it is either the principle confederation, or at least challenging for that position in the majority of industries.
CFDT officials pointed out at mass meetings of tens of thousands of activists and officials on October 3 that they believe the current moderate approach will strengthen the CFDT's hand in the elections.
However, the New Anti-Capitalist Party reported on October 6 that CFDT's leaders had to spend much of those meetings defending their conservative line from criticisms from the ranks.
One positive development has been that leaders from France's union confederations held a joint meeting on October 9. This is the first such meeting to be held during the current campaign, despite calls by Solidaires for a joint meeting since May.
Unfortunately, the meeting did not issue a joint call for united mobilisation, although Solidaires suggested that in addition to themselves, the CGT and the United Union Federation, which have all been actively pushing for joint mobilisation, there is also support for such a call from Workers Force and the French Confederation of Management – General Confederation of Executives.
The meeting did support a call for a further meeting of union leaderships on October 24, which will take stock of the full range of social attacks coming from the government. Solidaires leaders have expressed hope that the meeting will call a joint mobilisation for early November.
On October 9, the CGT called a confederation-wide strike for October 19. CGT national secretary Fabrice Angei said in a statement: "Our citizens are increasingly challenging the orders, 65% of them reject them and 57% approve of the mobilisations against the government project … the government is conducting a comprehensive deconstruction of the French social model.
"We will mobilise on October 19 against this social destruction, and for a 32-hour week, salary increases and retirement for all via mutualisation".
Solidaires issued a statement on October 12 in support of the October 19 mobilisation, arguing that it is an opportunity to build public awareness and unify and strengthen the unions' bases of support in the public and private sector in order to better challenge the government.


Join us as we skip into Summer with the the exclusive "Dancing Daisy" story from Little Lies.
Inspired by those days of freedom and bliss from travel and vacations where the evenings are long and there is time to enjoy the sunset over the horizon.
This playful print in feminine silhouettes offer so much versatility, fun and romance. Frilly skirts, peplum hems and a simple cami are the features of this capsule, combined with the fresh floral print the outcome is beautifully romantic.


I have had a crazy, busy week and not online much at all. I've had so much going on and couldn't think of anything original to post. Do you ever have these moods? :-) I typed up an appraisal for a friend re: heavy equipment. Learned a lot about the subject too. Was great to have some extra $$$ too! Had an incredible hair cut from a new guy ~ just wish he were around to blow it dry, etc., daily. Doesn't look quite the same when I do it. Final check-up with the eye doctor and an all clear! Both eyes are healed and I'm extremely pleased and grateful. Played cards with friends last night and had a great potluck too...salads, veggies, fruits, crackers, you name it. My daughter and I went to see "Eat, Pray, Love" today and then had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. We loved the movie but I understand a lot of folks don't. Oh well..... The sound track is a must I think! I will be looking for that right away. We had appetizers as it was just so hot outside ~ heavy foods are out right now. I also found an incredible drink on the menu called "Georgia Peach". Oh my! Vodka, Peach Schnapps, peaches and raspberries all blended with crushed ice. Light, refreshing and so delicious! I ordered the Chicken Samosas and she got the Vietnamese Tacos. Both were great and we shared. The Vietnamese dish was superb! The "taco" part was very different....not what we would normally call a taco...very light and the filling quite tasty. A fun day and a chance to do something different. What are you doing this weekend?
Hi Pat! I had a crazy busy week too! I'm glad your eyes healed so well!
I wanted to see that movie, I heard it suppose to be good. I will have to see it.
Not much going on here this weekend, just resting up because I'm going to have a busy week next week at work! Happy Sunday!
I have those busy, crazy weeks quiet often.
The movie sounds good but the drink sounds better.
Hi there...I'm just doing my weekend reading around here. Love Cheesecake Factory food, but there is always so much of it! I haven't talked to anyone who has seen the movie yet. I usually like Julia Robert's films. Don't you just love a good haircut?
I am very curious about Eat Pray Love because it was a book club selection for my club and it was a big bomb. Yet, I also gifted it to someone who said it was one of her favorite books ever. I wonder if she was just being nice. I'd love to see the movie. I love the male lead (can't think of his name).


Cretaceous Sea Monsters Captured on Film!
National Geographic in association with Kansas University aided and abetted by a number of US palaeontological institutions have premiered – "Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure".
The film shot using a mixture of footage of digs and computer generated imagery, has been designed for screening at IMAX theatres and shows life in the sea at the end of the Cretaceous in glorious 3-D.
The action is set approximately 82 million years ago (Campanian stage), in the Western Interior Seaway, a shallow sea that covered much of what was to become North America, specifically the locations are in Kansas. This is due to the rich marine fossil record of this state, coupled with the fact that as modern Kansas is a flat and dry landscape the shots of a prehistoric sea contrast nicely.
The film centres around a school of Dolichorhynchops or "Dollies" as palaeontologists have affectionately named them. These were Polycotylid plesiosaurs, spending their time feeding on fish, molluscs and squid. Reaching lengths of approximately 4 metres they would have been dwarfed by their Mosasaur contemporaries, many of whom were the dominant predators in these waters. Indeed, the school encounters a Tylosaurus an 8-10 metres long relative of snakes who if it caught one would make short work of a Dolichorhynchops.
This informative documentary style film features a wide range of Cretaceous inhabitants including Hesperornis (a 2-metre long flightless bird) and the fearsome Xiphactinus a 6-metre long, predatory fish that makes piranhas look like wimps.
The film makers consulted a number of palaeontologists to help make the scenes and the animals as realistic as possible, turning to Industrial Light and Magic (the company behind the special effects in the Star Wars movies), to bring these amazing creatures to life.
"Sea Monsters" unites parts of the story with real palaeontology, for example, in the movie's narrative if a Xiphactinus eats a Dolichorynchops, it cuts to a palaeontologist examining bones and fossils showing evidence of just such an encounter. This is a really good way to get science over without people realising it. However, the film crew do resort to exploiting the 3-D effects to give a few more thrills and spills.
I bet you will jump back from the screen when you see a 20 foot killer fish charging straight for you!
Sadly, there are no Ichthyosaurs, these wonderful animals were well on the way to becoming extinct by the Campanian. No one knows for sure why they died out, perhaps they were not able to compete with the long necked Plesiosaurs such as Styxosaurus, which also features in the film. You are treated to a shot of one of these magnificent long-necked fish hunters swimming gracefully overhead.
Tyrannosaurus rex does have a cameo appearance, I suppose the Director – Sean MacLeod Phillips felt compelled to put him in, although technically this feature is set too early for a T. rex, but that does not detract much from this 40 minute spectacle.
Good to see the marine reptiles, getting their share of the limelight, after all, much of the land that we now know as the familiar modern landscape spent the Cretaceous as seas and oceans, the home of some pretty amazing animals.
There are a few marine animals available as models, although, sadly many have been withdrawn and are out of production.