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text:
State eyes two charter schools
Concerned about possible conflicts, state wants conditions; no violations seen
By James Vaznis Globe staff,February 25, 2014, 12:00 a.m.
Match Charter Public High School on Commonwealth Avenue. Lane Turner/Globe Staff/Globe Staff
Massachusetts education officials are preparing to impose several conditions Tuesday on the operating licenses of two high-
performing charter schools in Boston to address concerns about possible conflict of interest and to clear up any confusion over who is running the schools.
The proposed conditions for Match Charter Public School and Match Community Day Public Charter School center around affiliated businesses created to help acquire buildings for school use and to disseminate their often-praised tutoring and teacher preparation programs to other public schools, according to a memo by Mitchell Chester, commissioner of elementary and secondary education.
Chester said he is recommending the conditions as a precaution and has no reason to believe that any violations of state rules or laws have occurred.
"I want to make sure among Match's initiatives that there is appropriate legal and ethical relationships and separation among those pieces," Chester said in an interview.
Match has been the most aggressive among the state's charter schools in sharing its practices with other schools, and it has evolved into separate businesses for them, although managed by affiliated organizations.
For instance, a separate organization called the Match Charter School Foundation runs a consulting service that helps other schools replicate the Match Schools' "high-
dosage" tutoring program, credited with improving scores on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, or MCAS. In addition, individuals tied with Match launched the Charles Sposato Graduate School of Education to bolster its teacher training program.
But lines between the organizations are blurry at times. All the entities, including the charter schools, are marketed under the Match Education name and share a website, office space, and, in most cases, a common chief executive officer, Stig Leschly. Several other individuals also work for more than one of the entities, according to the state.
Although it is perfectly legal for the Match schools to establish the affiliated businesses, school officials need to pay careful attention to how they separate the finances of the publicly funded schools and privately financed businesses, state officials say.
Match says it will comply with the conditions, which are scheduled for a vote Tuesday by the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
"Match has always been and will continue to be transparent with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and to comply with all regulations," Match officials said in a statement. "These conditions are technicalities that we are willing to address quickly. It's in our students' best interest and in our movement's best interest for public and private entities to partner in education. Match is an example of how that can be done well."
The conditions would require Match to seek opinions from the State Ethics Commission about charter school employees or trustees who hold positions at the private institutions and to contact the "appropriate public employee retirement boards no later than March 14, 2014, to ensure that employee time has been properly reported."
A third condition instructs Match to clarify on its website and in marketing materials that the charter schools are public institutions. Currently, the website says that Match Education operates the charter schools, giving the impression to some that the schools might be private. Charter schools in Massachusetts are operated by boards of trustees.
"I want to be clear I have been very positive about their work in school and their kind of tutoring and teaher preparation," Chester said. "They are inventive and a tremendous asset to the Massachusetts educational landscape."
State charter school regulators first began raising questions about Match and its various entities in May 2012 after conducting a site visit. Match officials presented the regulators with an organizational chart indicating the schools were operated by Match Education, according to a copy of the site-visit report.
Match officials later clarified that the charter schools were operated by the board of trustees and that Match Education was merely a brand name being used to encapsulate all their various entities. They also said Leschly "made all the appropriate filings and disclosure regarding his positions" with the Ethics Commission, according to a October 2012 letter to the state.
The issue is resurfacing now because Match and Match Community Day are seeking to consolidate into a single charter school instead of operating separately, a proposal that is also up for a state board vote Tuesday.
The proposed conditions come months after some tutors raised questions in the fall about whether Match was following state miniminum wage laws.
Match officials acknowledged they may have been out of sync and adopted several remedies, such as introducing time cards and paying $82,000 in back wages.
James Vaznis can be reached at jvaznis@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globevaznis.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Labour leader pledges to listen and learn from tough lessons of her first year
Harry Taylor
Georgia Gould - Credit: Camden Labour Party
Georgia Gould could have at least three reasons to celebrate next month, although only one of them is definite. Not only will she turn 32, but she hopes to be returned to the council as a councillor for Kentish Town, and be reinstated as the borough's leader.
However her time as leader has been marked by the Chalcots Estate evacuation, just over a month after she took on the role.
Campaigners, including Lib Dem candidate in Belsize Tom Simon, have since said the decision to evacuate was taken prematurely. But Cllr Gould said she offered to put measures in place, to keep tenants in their homes, but this wasn't enough.
"I don't think I've ever seen fear like that, people were scared to stay in their own homes."
"We knew the deep disruption the evacuation would cause, and I spoke to the fire brigade and pressed them on it. We offered to pay for fire trucks to be outside the blocks, but they were unequivocal it was unsafe for them to stay."
"I don't think we had a choice. Anyone who was there, two weeks after Grenfell, hearing people were not safe to stay in their beds, would have made that decision. It was a difficult, but everyone's advice was clear.
However she admitted one of her regrets about the evacuation.
"Residents have said that our communication could have been better, but we did the best we could in difficult circumstances, and there's a lot to learn."
She also acknowledges there's "a lot of anger" over the Chalcots and "people sometimes don't trust us," she said.
However it looks as though lessons weren't learned quickly enough. Despite appointing a director of resident safety, and starting an inquiry into the Chalcots, last week Camden's coroner Mary Hassell criticised the council over a fatal fire on November 21 in Daleham Gardens.
Ms Hassell raised concerns that the council hadn't got anybody appointed to check smoke detectors were fully operational.
Ms Gould said: "We did have fire officers, and the fire brigade regularly do checks. There was a lot going on, but we are ready to learn from it.
"Making sure our residents are safe is my number one priority," she said.
Cllr Gould wants to lead the council by "listening, taking people with us, and by being there when things get tough."
There are current rumours that if Labour enjoy a good day at the ballot box on May 3, the opposition could be severely reduced. But Cllr Gould doesn't believe this would result in a lack of scrutiny in council decisions.
"We're clear that we want to be accountable to residents, and open. I've opened up council meetings to residents, to hold us to account directly. Our approach is about bringing them in, and listening to them."


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text:
\section{Introduction}
Deep learning has made remarkable advancements in medical image analysis for various tasks across a range of imaging modalities \citep{esteva2017dermatologist, gulshan2016development, chilamkurthy2018deep}. This rapid progress in image analysis capability has raised hopes that deployment of such technology will increase diagnostic accuracy, streamline clinical workflows, and improve patient outcomes \citep{thrall2018artificial, levin2018machine, berlyand2018artificial}. Much of this progress has been attributed to increased computing power and the development of large and well-curated clinical datasets \citep{Yu2018}. However, recent years have demonstrated that significant performance gains remain to be had from innovations in neural network architectures and domain-specific image pre-processing \citep{greenspan2016guest}.

Deep learning architectures in the medical domain may yet see significant performance improvements by incorporating expert knowledge about the target imaging modality and the current clinical workflow. In the case of computed tomography (CT), image values are defined over a wide range of Housefield Units (HU), but with different tissue types and pathologies generally visible only in narrow and specific ranges. As such, when interpreting CT images, human experts leverage tools in their workstations to apply predefined window levels (WL) and window widths (WW) to their display windows; these window adjustments focus visibility on the subset of tissues relevant to their task, and are crucial for the effective detection of some pathologies \citep{bae2005ct, moise2004design}. For example, radiologists may use a pre-set "brain" or "subdural" window setting for intracranial hemorrhage(ICH) detection. Despite the importance of optimal window settings in clinical practice, however, the effects of window settings on image quality and algorithmic performance have been overlooked in the literature. Most previous works have converted CT images to grayscale with a pre-set window setting, encoded three different windowed images into an RGB image, or used a wide range of image intensity values without windowing as input into deep learning models \citep{arbabshirani2018advanced, hoo2016deep, anthimopoulos2016lung, chang2018hybrid}.

In this study, inspired by the way radiologists interpret CT images, we propose a window setting optimization (WSO) module comprised of convolution layers with 1x1 filters and customized activation functions. This enables us to find optimal window settings in a task-specific manner via backpropogation, which we demonstrate results in improved model performance on the detection of ICH and urinary stones. This WSO module mimics the radiologist's workflow to optimize windowing functions and focus on the narrow window range in which the target organs or abnormalities can be clearly seen. Our method can be potentially applied to other CT image analysis tasks such as object detection and semantic segmentation, or to other medical imaging modalities such as a positron emission tomography (PET) scan and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

\section{Methods}
\begin{figure}
\begin{center}
        \includegraphics[scale=0.8]{windowfunc.pdf}

        \caption{\label{fig:windowfunc}Window functions}
\end{center}
\end{figure}
\subsection{Windowing function}
The most common format for medical images is the digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) format. DICOM images are encoded with either 12 or 16 bits per pixel, which is 4,096 or 65,536 levels per pixel, respectively. In CT imaging, these pixels represent Housefield Units values that correspond to tissue density and are generally distributed from $HU_{air}$(-1000) to >4000. The range and granularity of the data encoded in CT images extends far beyond the perceptual capacity of the human visual system, which can distinguish only several hundreds of grayscale. In addition, most medical displays support at most 8-bit resolution \citep{kimpe2007increasing}. For these technical and biological reasons, CT images can only be successfully interpreted by humans when the display device allows for a window function with adjustment of window settings. These settings map the visual range of the displays to a specified window, and assign all HU values outside this window range to $0$ or $U$ (Fig. \ref{fig:windowfunc}). Windowing functions are defined based on linear or sigmoidal conversion as the following equations:
\begin{equation}\label{eq:linear}
\begin{aligned}
F_{lin}(x) = \min(\max(Wx+b, U), 0),
where~ W=\frac{U}{WW},
~ b=-\frac{U}{WW}(WL-\frac{WW}{2})
\end{aligned}
\end{equation}

\begin{equation}\label{eq:sigmoid}
\begin{aligned}
F_{sig}(x) = \frac{U}{1+e^{-(Wx+b)}},
where~ W=\frac{2}{WW}\log(\frac{U}{\epsilon} - 1),
~ b=\frac{-2WL}{WW}\log(\frac{U}{\epsilon} - 1)
\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
The constant $U$ is the upper limit of windowing functions and $\epsilon$ is the margin between the upper/lower limits and window end/start gray levels which determine the slope at the center.

\subsection{Window setting optimization module}
The linear and sigmoid windowing functions utilized in radiologist's monitors can be emulated as a WSO module inside a neural network architecture. This is achieved by using convolution layers with 1x1 filters and a stride setting, followed by an activation layer -- an upper-bounded rectified linear unit (ReLU), or sigmoid function multiplied by $U$, respectively, for the linear or sigmoid windowing function. In our implementation, full-range DICOM images are passed through this WSO module prior to being used as input to a CNN, as shown in Fig. \ref{fig:system}. Weights and biases of the 1x1 convolution layers in the WSO module can thus be optimized along with the CNN, facilitating the identification of optimal windowing functions to visually extract the necessary features for maximum classification performance.

\begin{figure}
\begin{center}
        \includegraphics[scale=1.0]{system.png}

        \caption{\label{fig:system}Overall architecture of window setting optimization (WSO) module}
\end{center}
\end{figure}

\subsection{Dataset}
This retrospective health insurance portability and accountability act (HIPAA)-compliant study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at our institution. All DICOM images were de-identified prior to this study. For ICH detection, a total of 904 non-contrast head CT examinations, including 625 ICH-positive and 279 ICH-negative cases, were acquired from our institutional Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) between June 2003 and July 2017. For urinary stone detection, we retrieved a total of 515 unenhanced abdominopelvic CT examinations, including 256 stone-negative and 279 stone-positive cases, from our PACS between January and October 2016. 2-dimensional (2D) axial slices of all head CT cases were annotated as the presence of ICH by five neuroradiologists by consensus, and axial slices from all abdominopelvic CT scans were labeled by a radiologist with 6 years experience as presence of urinary stones along with original radiology reports. 2D axial slices for both ICH and urinary stone detection were randomly split into train, validation, and test datasets by cases to make sure there is no overlap in cases between subsets (Table \ref{table:data}).

\subsection{Experimental setup}
 We evaluated ten different classification models developed by training Inception-v3 \citep{szegedy2016rethinking} on various forms of input images with and without using WSO for ICH and urinary stone detection. First, CT images with a full dynamic range of HU values were used for a baseline model. Images converted with either of two pre-defined window settings and two-channel images generated with both were also used as input to CNN without a WSO module. The two pre-set window settings include "brain" (WL=50HU, WW=100HU) and "subdural" (WL=50HU, WW=130HU) windows for ICH detection, and "bone" (WL=300HU, WW=1500HU) and "abdomen" (WL=40HU, WW=400HU) for urinary stone detection. In addition, Inception-v3 equipped with WSO was trained on full-range DICOM images with weights and biases of convolution layers in the WSO initialized according to the windowing function type. For this preliminary study, we set $U$ as 255 and $\epsilon$ as 1, and associated $W$ and $b$ were then computed using Eq. \ref{eq:linear} for linear and Eq. \ref{eq:sigmoid} for sigmoid for each pre-defined window setting. All classification models were trained for 60 epochs using the Adam optimizer \citep{kingma2014adam} with default settings and a mini-batch size of 64. The base learning rate of 0.001 was decayed by a factor of 10 every 20 epochs, and the best models were selected based on the validation loss.
\section{Results}
\begin{table}[!htbp]
\centering
\scalebox{0.9}{
\begin{tabular}{c|cc|cc|cc}
    \toprule

     & \multicolumn{2}{c|}{WSO} &
    \multicolumn{2}{c|}{ICH} &
    \multicolumn{2}{c}{Stone}\\
    Input
    & \multicolumn{1}{c}{Windowing function} & \multicolumn{1}{c|}{Initialization}
    & AP & AUC & AP & AUC\\
    \hline
    \midrule
    \multicolumn{1}{r}{HU values}
    & \multicolumn{1}{c}{-}&\multicolumn{1}{c|}{-}&0.807&0.923&0.813&0.800\\

    \multicolumn{1}{r}{Windowed with $S_1$}
    & \multicolumn{1}{c}{-}&\multicolumn{1}{c|}{-}&0.925&0.963&0.920&0.917\\

    \multicolumn{1}{r}{Windowed with $S_2$}
    & \multicolumn{1}{c}{-}&\multicolumn{1}{c|}{-}&0.932&0.967&0.945&0.944\\

    \multicolumn{1}{r}{Windowed with $S_1$, $S_2$}
    & \multicolumn{1}{c}{-}&\multicolumn{1}{c|}{-}&0.934&0.969&0.946&0.946\\

    \multicolumn{1}{r}{HU values}
    & \multicolumn{1}{c}{$F_{lin}$}
    & \multicolumn{1}{c|}{$S_1$}
    &0.929&0.963&0.926&0.924\\

    \multicolumn{1}{r}{HU values}
    & \multicolumn{1}{c}{$F_{lin}$}
    & \multicolumn{1}{c|}{$S_2$}
    & 0.933&0.966&0.943&0.934\\

    \multicolumn{1}{r}{HU values}
    & \multicolumn{1}{c}{$F_{lin}$}
    & \multicolumn{1}{c|}{$S_1$, $S_2$}
    & 0.940&0.970&0.951&0.946\\

    \multicolumn{1}{r}{HU values}
    & \multicolumn{1}{c}{$F_{sig}$}
    & \multicolumn{1}{c|}{$S_1$}
    & 0.930&0.966&0.959&0.955\\

    \multicolumn{1}{r}{HU values}
    & \multicolumn{1}{c}{$F_{sig}$}
    & \multicolumn{1}{c|}{$S_2$}
    & 0.939 & 0.971 & 0.970 & 0.970\\

    \multicolumn{1}{r}{HU values}
    & \multicolumn{1}{c}{$F_{sig}$}
    & \multicolumn{1}{c|}{$S_1$, $S_2$}
    & \textbf{0.950} & \textbf{0.976} & \textbf{0.971} & \textbf{0.972}\\
    \bottomrule
\end{tabular}}
\caption{\label{table:results} Performance of ten different models trained with different input data and WSO module for ICH and urinary stone detection. $S_1$=Brain window and $S_2$=Subdural window settings for ICH and $S_1$=Bone window and $S_2$=Abdomen window settings for Stone.}
\end{table}
Table \ref{table:results} shows average precision (AP) and area under the ROC curve (AUC) evaluated on the test sets for the ten different models for ICH and urinary stone detection. Models trained on windowed images with pre-defined settings obtained significantly better performance than models trained with CT images with a dynamic full range of HU values for both classification tasks. Furthermore, model performance was improved when using WSO to optimize window settings instead of using fixed standard ones, especially with sigmoid windowing function, parameters of which were initialized according to two standard window settings.
\begin{figure}
\begin{center}
        \includegraphics[scale=0.75]{windowimages.png}

        \caption{\label{fig:windowimages}Examples of DICOM and optimized windowed images}
\end{center}
\end{figure}
\section{Discussion}
In this study, we demonstrated that models with WSO achieved better performance for ICH and urinary stone detection on CT images, compared to using full-range DICOM images or windowed images with standard pre-defined window settings. Furthermore, as shown in Figure \ref{fig:windowimages}, WSO enabled models to find optimal window settings that make the regions of hemorrhage and urinary stones (highlighted in yellow) more conspicuous against neighboring anatomical structures to maximize classification model performance. Our WSO models can be further optimized by investigating the effects of the number of input image channels, $\epsilon$, and $U$ on the performance of target application. Additionally, we stress that the WSO-based approach described here is not specific to abnormality classification on CT images, but rather generalizable to various image interpretation task on a variety of medical imaging modalities.

\section{Acknowledgements}
We thank Claire Jeon and Samuel G. Finlayson for proofreading and constructive comments on the manuscript.

\bibliographystyle{ACM-Reference-Format}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
Does your blood type affect your Covid-19 risk? It's complicated.
Early research suggested that individuals with Type A blood were at especially high risk of severe complications from Covid-19—but newer research is revealing a more complicated picture, the New York Times' Carl Zimmer reports.
Your top resources for Covid-19 response and resilience
Researchers link blood type to Covid-19 risk
Earlier this year, scientists released research indicating that individuals' blood type could linked with their risk of contracting the novel coronavirus and developing a severe case of Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus.
###PLACEHOLDER###
One preprint study released last month, which hasn't been peer-reviewed, examined blood samples from 1,610 Covid-19 patients who developed severe cases of Covid-19, which the researchers classified as needing oxygen or a ventilator as part of their treatment. The researchers found that many of the patients who had severe cases of Covid-19 possessed the same variant on a gene that determines a person's blood type. Specifically, the researchers found that having blood type A was linked with a 50% increase in the likelihood a patient would develop a severe case of Covid-19.
A separate preprint study conducted by researchers in China that hasn't been peer-reviewed found similar results. The study found that, out of 2,173 Covid-19 patients, blood type A was associated with a higher risk of death from Covid-19 as well as a higher risk of contracting the new coronavirus. Patients with blood type O appeared to be the least likely to contract the virus.
Despite the findings, Andre Franke—a molecular geneticist at the University of Kiel in Germany, who led the first study—last month said researchers were still unsure exactly how a person's blood type plays a part in how Covid-19 affects them. "That is haunting me, quite honestly," he said.
Still, some observers hoped the findings could help scientists identify treatments for Covid-19, though they said more research on the topic was needed.
New research raises questions about blood type's role in Covid-19 risk
However, two new studies suggest the link between Covid-19 a person's blood type might not be significant enough to actually alter a person's risk.
After reviewing the medical records of 7,770 people who tested positive for the novel coronavirus, Nicholas Tatonetti, a data scientist at Columbia University, and graduate student Michael Zietz said they found that having blood Type A blood was associated with a lower risk of being placed on a ventilator, while having blood type AB was associated with a higher risk of needing ventilation, Zimmer reports. However, Tatonetti and Zietz cautioned that their results related to the AB blood type are less reliable than their results for other blood types, because there were few patients in the study with type AB blood.
Tatonetti and Zietz haven't yet published the results from their full study, which is currently under review for possible publication in a scientific journal, Zimmer reports. The researchers have released preliminary results, which are based on a sample of 1,559, in a preprint study that hasn't been peer-reviewed.
Separately, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in a study published in Annals of Hematology, which has open access options, found that people with Type O blood appeared to have a slightly lower risk of contacting the new coronavirus, but they also found that a patient's blood type was not associated with their risk of needing ventilation or dying because of Covid-19.
So what does blood type have to do with Covid-19 risk?
Overall, Tatonetti said connections between individuals' blood type and their Covid-19 risk are not strong enough to consider blood type as a risk factor for contracting the new coronavirus or developing a severe case of Covid-19. "No one should think they're protected" because of their blood type, he said.
Anahita Dua, a vascular surgeon at MGH and senior author of the study by MGH researchers, said the link they found between blood type and coronavirus risk was so weak that she "wouldn't even" consider using blood type as a risk factor for the virus or Covid-19.
Joern Bullerdiek, director of the Institute for Medical Genetics at University Medicine Rostock, said the new findings mean "it's probably decided that blood groups are not influencing the outcome of" Covid-19.
But researchers said even though the associations between blood type and the novel coronavirus aren't particularly strong, they could help scientists understand how the virus and Covid-19 work.
According to Zimmer, different blood types make different antibodies, meaning a person's blood type could determine how a patient's immune system battles infections. So, "It's conceivable that these molecular differences in the immune system explain the purported link between blood type and coronavirus infections," Zimmer reports.
Zietz told Zimmer that some research also indicates that "certain blood types have different risks of clotting," which could affect how patients experience Covid-19, which has been shown to cause blood clots in some patients.
Tatonetti said the connection between blood type and clotting risk is "ripe for experimentation," adding, "There are so many people getting infected now across the country that there will be an opportunity to study a much wider population" (Zimmer, New York Times, 7/15).
Around the nation: Federal appeals court upholds 2019 site-neutral payments rule
Current ArticleDoes your blood type affect your Covid-19 risk? It's complicated.
Study finds older children transmit the new coronavirus just as much as adults
Trump's coronavirus briefings are back. Here's what to expect.
What's gone wrong with America's coronavirus response?
blood-type-risk


text:
Q: How to rename Entity and attribute in symfony I just want to rename "EntityName" to something else the most easily possible, with the database entry. Also how can I rename an Attribute?
So, I have an Entity called "EntityName" (for exemple) in /appname/src/Entity/EntityName.php like this:
<?php
namespace App\Entity;
use App\Repository\EntityNameRepository;
use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping as ORM;
/**
* @ORM\Entity(repositoryClass=EntityNameRepository::class)
*/
class EntityName
{
/**
 * @ORM\Id
 * @ORM\GeneratedValue
 * @ORM\Column(type="integer")
 */
private $id;
[...]

When I try to rename the name of the class and try php bin/console doctrine:schema:update --dump-sql or --force I get this error:

In EntityName.php line 11:
Compile Error: Cannot declare class App\Entity\NewName, because the name is already in use

(I think I cannot rename beaucause it check itself if it already exist.)

A: If you want to rename the entity means you have to change both Entity and Repository Class name and file name too. Then have to change Both classes import statements properly. After that just run this comment bin/console c:c.

A: I'd advise caution, specially if it's a production environment.
doctrine:schema:update --force (or doctrine:migrations:diff or make:migration, for that matter) doesn't detect changes so it will drop your existing table (along with all your data) and create a new one.
The safest way to preserve data would be to hand-create a migration with the ALTER TABLE ... RENAME. You can also use the @Table(name="old_table_name") annotation to preserve the original name, although this might be a bit confusing when looking at the database alone.
Depending on your IDE you might need more or less elbow grease. Chances are that the following will be handled correctly:

*

*Both the entity and repository class name and file name, making them match (even in the caseName).

*The entity class name in the repository constructor.

*The repository class name in the repositoryClass annotation of the entity.

*targetEntity annotations in relations.

There will be the property names themselves in the related classes (and JoinTableand mappedBy / inversedBy if applicable) left to change, if you wish to keep things consistent. If so, you would have to add the needed statements to the migration as well, and you might need to disable the constraints in the process. --dump-sql might be helpful on hinting what tables need renaming, but you won't be able to use the sql straight up.
The easiest way, if you don't care about your data, would be doctrine:schema:update --force indeed.

A: If you want to rename an entity, you only need to change its class name AND file name to make it match. Also make sure the namespace match file path.
If all these things are right, then make sure you don't have another file which would contain the same namespace and class name you are trying to use for your "NewName" class
If you still get the error message, then you might want to clear you cache by running php bin/console c:c
Lastly, if it still fails, you might want to dump the autoload by running composer dump-autoload (or if you are using Phpstorm: tools > composer > dump autoloader)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Twitter is rolling out its new web interface to users globally, including several key features, like a newly designed emoji button.
TheNewsGuru (TNG) observed the most important changes are tiny shortcuts the micro-blogging platform made to enable tweeting easier.
"Some of you got an opt-in to try it now. Check out the emoji button, quick keyboard shortcuts, upgraded trends, advanced search, and more. Let us know your thoughts," Twitter tweeted of the new web interface.
A large, dedicated button in the tweet box makes it easier to add an emoji, an updated trending section appears on the right-hand side of the page, and little aesthetic updates make it easier to see who's involved in a conversation.
The changes, alongside the way Twitter's desktop version has condensed from three columns into two, should make it easier to both read and send tweets.
"Tried it yesterday – definitely an improvement," a Twitter user said of the new web interface.
However, some users have expressed disappointment the update did not come with the much-awaited edit button.
Twitter chief executive officer (CEO), Jack Dorsey had said the micro-blogging platform was considering an option for users to be able to edit tweets.
"Maybe we introduce a 5-30 seconds delay in the sending of tweet and within that window, you can edit because the issue with going longer than that is it takes that real-time nature of the conversational flow out of it.
"Once you send a text, you can't take it back. When you send a tweet, it goes to the world instantaneously. You can't take it back," Dorsey said.
"When are you planning to have an edit button @jack for the posts? You know people make mistakes sometimes when they tweet," a user queried.
However, Twitter did not immediately reply the query.


It may be tempting to change your direction when a marketing plan doesn't work right away. This communicator shares steps you can take to keep moving ahead.
Forget hacks. Here's an actual growth playbook for content with a B2C2B product at it's core.


text:
Das Rebhuhn ist ein Märchen (AaTh 960). Es steht in Ludwig Bechsteins Deutsches Märchenbuch an Stelle 79 (1845 Nr. 12) und stammt aus Joseph von Laßbergs Liedersaal (Nr. 160: Die rächenden Rebhühner).

Inhalt
Ein reicher Jude erbittet vom König sicheren Geleitschutz. Der gibt ihm seinen Schenk mit auf den Weg. Im Wald ersticht dieser den Juden, der noch warnt, es komme heraus. Da fliegt ein Rebhuhn auf; der Schenk spottet, das werde es verraten. Als er einmal dem König Rebhuhn aufträgt, muss er lachen. Der König fragt warum. Im Rausch gesteht der Schenk und wird gehenkt.

Herkunft
Bechstein verweist auf eine "Handschrift der Leipziger Universitätsbibliothek" sowie Moriz Haupt und Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben in Altdeutsche Blätter I, 1836. Laut Hans-Jörg Uther ist dieser Hinweis nur ergänzend zur Quelle zu sehen. Laßberg stellt den sechs Strophen, deren Dichter vielleicht Die Kraniche des Ibykus inspirierten, eine Inhaltsangabe vor und nennt Fabeln aus den Zeiten der Minnesinger, Zürich 1757, Nr. LXI und Beneckes Edelstein des Bonerius, Berlin 1816, Nr. LXI. Vgl. Bechsteins Sonnenkringel. Grimms Anmerkung zu Die klare Sonne bringt's an den Tag nennt ähnliche Fassungen.

Literatur
 Hans-Jörg Uther (Hrsg.): Ludwig Bechstein. Märchenbuch. Nach der Ausgabe von 1857, textkritisch revidiert und durch Register erschlossen. Diederichs, München 1997, ISBN 3-424-01372-2, S. 362–364, 393–394.

Einzelnachweise

Weblinks
 Märchen.com: Das Rebhuhn, 1847
 Das Rebhuhn gelesen (4:27) (YouTube)

Bechsteins Märchen
Märchen
Literatur (19. Jahrhundert)
Literatur (Deutsch)
Literarisches Werk
Vogel in der Kunst

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: How to store non english unicode characters using dynamic query in SQL Server I want to save non-english unicode characters into a table in SQL Server.
declare @cSql varchar(200)
set @cSql = ''

declare @cCode varchar(10)
set @cCode = '001'

declare @cKName Nvarchar(200)
set @cKName = N'ಒಂದು'

Insert into DepMast (omCode, omKName)
Values(@cCode, @cKName)

On executing the above code, the unicode characters are saved as required.
But, if I use dynamic query, '?????' is stored.
set @cSql = 'Insert into DepMast (omCode, omKName)
             Values(''' + @cCode + ''',''' + @cKName + ''')'

exec(@cSql)

Any ideas on storing unicode characters using dynamic query?

A: Two reasons for this behaviour - firstly, you have declared @cSql as varchar datatype and @cKName as nvarchar datatype. Secondly, you are not prefixing the value with N when inserting. This should fix the issue
declare @cSql nvarchar(200) --changed datatype to nvarchar
set @cSql=''
declare @cCode varchar(10)
set @cCode='001'
declare @cKName nvarchar(200)
set @cKName=N'ಒಂದು'
set @cSql='Insert into DepMast (omCode,omKName)
Values('''+@cCode+''',N'''+@cKName+''')' -- added the "N" prefix
exec(@cSql)

A: Use Insert Into Select Statement in dynamic query.You need to store your Unicode characters in some reference table with key value.


text:
SDC deplores humanitarian crisis in East Africa
Women and children in a camp in Uganda Keystone
Northern Uganda and eastern Congo are in the grip of a "dramatic" humanitarian situation, says the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
Isobel Leybold-Johnson
Isobel trained as a journalist in Great Britain and speaks all three Swiss national languages. She reports on education for swissinfo.ch.
More from this author | English Department
Hansjürg Ambühl, head of the SDC's Africa humanitarian aid division, has just returned from a trip to the region to assess its needs and decide how Switzerland can help.
Ambühl spent a week in the provinces of Kitgum and Gulu in northern Uganda, before travelling on to Bunia in the Ituri district of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He said that in northern Uganda the rebel Lord's Resistance Army was terrorising the local population by carrying out attacks against women and children.
The group is embroiled in a 19-year-conflict with government forces, which has led to almost two million people fleeing their homes.
"The United Nations humanitarian coordinator, Jan Egeland, has said that the situation [in northern Uganda] is the biggest and worst humanitarian forgotten crisis in the world," Ambühl told swissinfo.
He added that the rebels often kidnapped children, forcing them into sex slavery or to join their forces.
As a result, "night commuters" - around 30,000 children who come from the villages to sleep in towns to avoid LRA attacks - have become commonplace.
The SDC representative, who is "very concerned" about the situation, said that the Swiss government was contributing to aid efforts by UN agencies and non-governmental organisations.
He added that Switzerland would continue its support in the region. The agency has also decided to cooperate with the UN children's organisation, Unicef, to improve child protection.
Deteriorated
Ambühl said that the situation in eastern Congo, which is plagued by violent militia groups, was not much better.
There are regular confrontations with the UN peacekeeping force, Monuc, which is stationed in eastern Congo – the last being the killing of nine Bangladeshi soldiers by militia forces in February.
Ambühl says the situation has deteriorated since January. An additional 100,000 people are living in four camps in the region, and some are hiding in the bush, making it harder for aid workers to gain access to them.
He said that these workers were faced with a difficult and dangerous environment.
"The UN actually wants them to travel with military protection," he told swissinfo.
"That has very complicated implications because it confuses mandates and perceptions among the population and the militias, so humanitarian actors can, at any moment, become militia targets," Ambühl said.
Apart from providing assistance, some of the Swiss projects in the region also focus on violence against women and children, one of the area's biggest problems.
One campaign "non à la violence, non au viol" (no to violence and rape) offers support and counselling to victims and aid workers. Ambühl said that there was now a greater interest in the issue.
He said he was also greatly encouraged by the solidarity and care shown by local NGOs and groups.
Political solution
But Ambühl warned that a political solution needed to be found soon and that more efforts were needed on both national and international levels.
"International assistance should be stepped up and made more clear," said Ambühl. "Monuc should be enhanced - the UN has deployed all the means it has in eastern Congo and it's still not sufficient," he added.
He said that although there has been criticism of Monuc – some peacekeepers have been caught up in a sex scandal – the population say the forces are necessary.
"They say with Monuc, we are not coming to paradise, but it will not be hell," said Ambühl.
Another worrying factor for the region is the erosion of values in the conflict-torn area, which Ambühl describes as "what was wrong yesterday, is right today".
He said it was hard to envisage peace and stability coming to the two areas in the near future.
"Even if there is a political solution, the humanitarian problems will remain," he told swissinfo.
"People are traumatised, returning to places that have been destroyed. Children have had no education, so the need for humanitarian assistance will remain for quite some time after negotiated peace - maybe another five years."
swissinfo, Isobel Leybold-Johnson
DR Congo: Population: 54.4 million; life expectancy: 41-43 years; GNI per capita: $100.
Swiss aid to DR Congo: SFr5.4 million ($4.5 million).
Uganda: Population: 26.7 million; life expectancy: 45-47 years; GNI per capita: $240.
Swiss aid to Uganda: SFr3 million.
Monuc
Swiss-backed radio in Congo triumphs over odds
This content was published on Oct 18, 2004 Oct 18, 2004 A Swiss non-governmental organisation has been helping to build peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo by setting up an impartial radio station...


text:
#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>

#import <GoogleMaps/GoogleMaps.h>

@interface MarkerEventsViewController : UIViewController <GMSMapViewDelegate>

@end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


This is the first issue of Ming Art Zine and about Japan´s Traditional Craftsmen. US Letter-Format, 22×28 cm and 120 pages, Color and Black and White pictures.
The RICOH GRD 1, or classic, or original in terms of being the first GR digital, been released in 2005.
Leica manufactured the Type 2 Summicron in two versions - the regular one as well as closed focus version (or dual range), which had an identical optical formula.
This is a six element version (3) with 10 blades, produced 1971 - 1979. Still with the same number of glass elements than Version 2, brought some improvement in overall contrast.
The smallest Leica 50mm lens. If mounted it makes even your Leica M small and light, perfect for traveling.


text:
Sentencing reform contains re-entry program (Audio)
Matt Long March 29, 2010 March 29, 2010 Comments Off on Sentencing reform contains re-entry program (Audio)
State legislation that would add certain reforms to prison sentencing is up for final reading in the state Senate this week and will be waiting for House members when they return in April following a two-week furlough.
The bill would direct the probation and parole system take control of more non-violent offenders and put them in ankle bracelets. But lawmakers say, just as importantly to reducing the need for new prison facilities, it would provide a re-entry program that would keep inmates from returning to prison.
Lexington County Republican Jake Knotts, a retired law enforcement officer, spent his professional career dealing with those who break the law, and with the court system. And he says the Omnibus Crime Reduction and Sentencing Reform Act would make a difference.
Knotts says a re-entry program is an essential part of prison reform–something that the South Carolina Department of Corrections has been sorely lacking.
(Knotts on prison reform II MP3 1:00)
Knotts on prison reform II
Knotts says reducing recidivism is much cheaper than building new prisons,and produces more productive citizens.
Knotts says the state of South Carolina hasn't built a prison since the early 1990's, and can't afford to now, at a cost of at least $135 million. And at the current rate, he says the prison population may increase by three thousand over the next five years.
Knotts says that one out of five of the state's approximately 25,000 inmates have drug convictions. One major element of the legislation is that it would remove sentencing disparities between crack cocaine possession and possession of regular cocaine. The measure also drops mandatory sentences for first-time convictions for simple drug possession.
The measure changes the classification of 22 crimes from violent to non-violent, but voilent offenders would not be eligible for parole until they serve 85 percent of their sentences. It would allow specially classified inmates, including disabled ones or geriatric patients, to be released from prison.
Senator Gerald Malloy says the legislation is the smart way to go, because it only costs $2,000 for each individual in a supervision program.
Business, Legislature, News
Spratt tapped for federal commission for fiscal reform
NU softball swept at Texas


Drawing things I love. LETs GROW will be the 1st series of 9 illustrations of succulents and aloes.
I just LOVE drawing hands. They make and break things, they show, they tell, they elaborate, they excite, they dance, they're honest and the list can go on and on and on… As inspiration for the next few illustrations, I took the hand language used for traveling in South Africa with local transport.
This was a project where various designers were asked to do a re-branding exercise for a digital agency.
THE BRIEF • How do you present the culture of an agency and creatives that is competitive, ambitious, passionate, talented and has no fear to challenge.
*Photography used were for presentation purposes only.


You have heard it many times before, "Mom, it's too hot out!" or "Dad, there is nothing to do!" or "Mom, it's raining!" or "Dad can my friends come over and play?" If one more "Mom!" or "Dad!" is about to put you over the edge, it's time to call WhirlyBall & Laser-Sport! The indoor gaming area at WhirllyBall & Laser-Sport offers a place to take the kids for hours of entertainment, no matter what the weather, and ALL of their friends can go to!
Now, seeing the kids in action has given you an idea, hasn't it? Yes, it would be great to have your next birthday party here! And you are in luck! WhirlyBall & Laser-Sport offers birthday party packages with all the fun and excitement provided. And, clean-up is on the house. Party rooms are available for groups of 10 to 150, just call for details!
If you're a parent in the Chagrin Falls, Ohio or Shaker Heights, Ohio area and plan on taking advantage of WhirlyBall & Laser-Sport's indoor gaming area, please be sure to call and make a reservation! GROUP PLAY IS BY RESERVATION ONLY! Or, if you are looking to plan a kids birthday party, call them at 216-591-0707 today! They are open by reservation only and are located at 5055 Richmond Road at Miles in Bedford Heights, Ohio…or to check out all the Whirly fun go to www.whirlyballcleveland.com!
This entry was posted in Recreation/Sports and tagged birthday party Chagrin Falls Ohio Shaker Heights Ohio, indoor gaming Chagrin Falls Ohio Shaker Heights Ohio, WhirlyBall/Lasersport Cleveland Ohio by admin. Bookmark the permalink.


TUXEDO JACKET, $280, and SWEATER, $50, both by TOPMAN at TOPSHOP MICHIGAN AVENUE. TROUSER at APARTMENT NUMBER 9.
All jewelry at A. MAREK FINE JEWELRY.
above: OVERCOAT, $795, by THEORY; TROUSER, $1,195, by ALEXANDER MCQUEEN; SWEATER, $1,620, by BERLUTTI; all at NEIMAN MARCUS MICHIGAN AVENUE.
above: SIGNATURE SHAMPOO and CONDITIONER, $38-$39, by ORIBE at NEIMAN MARCUS MICHIGAN AVENUE.
OVERCOAT, $895, by THEORY and SWEATER, $890, by VALENTINO, both at NEIMAN MARCUS MICHIGAN AVENUE.
left: JEANS, $398, by FABRIC BRAND & CO and SWEATER, $200, by NLST. right: JEANS, $230, by RAG & BONE and SWEATER, $295, by PAUL SMITH. All available at APARTMENT NUMBER 9.
 MANOLO BLAHNIK HEELS at IKRAM.
TROUSER, $65, SHIRT, $70, and JACKET, $280, all by TOPMAN at TOPSHOP MICHIGAN AVENUE. BOOT, $99, by THE RAIL at NORDSTROM.
JIMMY CHOO HEELS at IKRAM.


The Special Olympics track team qualified 14 out of 22 athletes for the state competition on June 10th through 12th at Illinois State University.
These 14 athletes finished in first place in their respective competitions.
The team as a whole played really well defensively. This enabled us to come away with a split for the week.
This week we only had games and so far we have won all our games. We are working on playing as a team and giving others chances. We enjoyed playing against Leyden.
We had one game this week versus Proviso Adults, we were able to get all of our players involved and passing the ball. Every player scored and even our newest member was able to get 2 baskets at her first game ever.
Transition Team Synopsis: Our practice was great the players were working together as a team and following a plan. We played in the Wheaton Warrenvile South Tournament on Sunday. Our first game, we had to work hard on not running up the score and not playing defense. This is hard for some and easier for others. Everyone on the team scored at least one basket. Our second game was a little more competitive, but we still outscored them.
Gold Team Summary: We played against OPRF. The team gave us a good challenge, but we lost a close game. The players were able to spread the points pretty evenly to all players. Then we played at the Wheaton Warrenville South Tournament and won both games. The first game vs. Jacobs we started slow and came back with a big lead in the second quarter to finish strong. The second game vs. Naperville 203 we scored consistently. We started to see some of our returning players step up and take the lead.
Black Team Summary: We played OPRF and took a hard loss. We played as a team and tried to get into a good rhythm but they just had some better players. At the Wheaton Warrenville South Tournament, we played vs. Naperville 203 and we were able to utilize our bench to get everyone equal playing time and bring home the W. Then we played West Chicago, they were a quick team who handled the ball well. Once we were able to get in sync the second Quarter we brought home the Win by capitalizing on their mistakes.


text:
Home » Latest » Let There Be Light…
Despite the unprecedented level of investment in the power sector and increase in electricity tariffs, power supply situation in Nigeria is still the same with the gap between demand and supply widening sharply in the urban areas even after the privatization exercise.
Even though power generation has barely improved beyond 4000 megawatts over the past six years, the outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan recently insisted he had delivered on his campaign pledge to make the power sector a priority for his administration as the Federal Government had invested about $8.26 billion in the power sector through the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) over the years.
President Jonathan, who was speaking during the inauguration of a 750 megawatts Olorunsogo II Power Station in Olorunsogo, Ogun State, recently said that soon the challenges posed by epileptic power supply would become a thing of the past.
Nigerians have been groaning and saying that the erratic nature of Nigeria's power supply cannot guarantee any meaningful industrial development and can also not lead the country to her vision of becoming one of the top 20 industrialised nations of the world by the year 2020.
The detailed power sector roadmap that is part of the implementation of the reform process, which legislative groundwork was laid by the Electric Power Sector Reform (EPSR) Act of 2005 is seen as a shame as customers are made to pay outrageous bills for "darkness".
The whole exercise is gradually being turned into a laughing shock with the Discos still battling with technical losses, which they attribute for their inability to distribute every megawatt received from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
Keen observers have accused the Discos of not deploying funds and loans from the Central Bank of Nigeria for infrastructural development, hence no improvement in power distribution. They also said that about 20 per cent of the power sent to the Discos is not accounted for due to technical losses.
Also, experts in the sector who commented on the development noted that the setting unrealistic targets have become the practice in Nigeria, particularly in the energy sector. They noted that government failed to deliver on its target to generate 10,000mw, 6,000mw, 10,000 and 14,000 in 2007 and 2009, 2012 and 2013 respectively and also did not make timelines for completion of various power projects, some of which had been under construction for almost a decade, and had never been met.
They cited the situation in South Africa that generate more than 40,000MW and declared that unfulfilled promises from the power sector drivers is not making Nigerians happy as all the privatization efforts have not made any significant impact so far in the power sector.
The Federal Government appeared not prepared for the privatization of the sector as it is still controlling the generation and transmission sector leaving the Distribution sector to investors, therefore the incoming government should revisit the power sector to ensure that those investors who are not competent are relieved of their jobs in the various Discos.
For the power sector overhaul to gain the confidence of the investors and consumers, experts say there is need for security of investment, right pricing and efficiency in power generation and distribution in order to sustain the delivery of power in the country.
Another area of note is the issue of gas flaring in the Niger Delta Region, passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and the implementation of the Federal Government of the abandoned Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) national strategic policy which highlights steps to be taken to stimulate and promote the use of LPG among the Nigerian populace.
The NNPC Audit Report is that is yet to be submitted to the National Assembly calls to question as the incoming government need to beam its search light on the report and the corporation to ensure that the turnaround maintenance of the nation's refinery is achieved for it to refine crude oil at optimal capacity.
It is an aberration for the country to be importing refined crude oil and this has to be stopped by the incoming administration for the power sector to have meaning and satisfy the yearnings of Nigerians.
Tags: LPGNational Integrated Power ProjectNIPPPowerTCNTransmission Company of Nigeria
Ribery in Injury Scare
Why the Hermes Birkin Bag Is the Most Sought after and the Most Cloned Bag


Advanced Hydroshield Technology protects every Neuma Patio Door system from water infiltration on all sides, which prevents warping, delamination, rotting and the development of mold and mildew.
Each Neuma Door System contains composite jambs that provide incredibly high impact and water protection, which prevents warping, splinting or rotting.
Each Neuma Door System includes compression molded, fiberglass door skins, which resists corrosion, rotting, splitting or cracking.
Neuma Doors uses a patented composite edge design structure, which prevents water from seeping into the door, thus preventing delamination or warping.
Call today to changed out your old worn out aluminum sliding patio door and have Cambridge Doors & Windows Inc.s install a new French*Hinged*Gliding*Terrace*Sliding Patio Door and bring the outdoors in. Now with mini blinds between the glass for privacy.


If it's true what people say, that a person becomes a force of habit, then I'm a typical man. That's true, at least, as far as this time of year is concerned.
Those magical words have come to mean just one thing for more than six of my seven-plus decades on this earth.
I'm sure I drove my wife nuts in the days leading up to that magical hour when Spring Training ended and teams began playing games in earnest. Granted, it's a long season, lasting until well into Fall. But April brings with it a time of eternal hope for baseball fans from Massachusetts to California and Florida to Minnesota.
My love of baseball nearly pre-dates television. My connection with the sport began when the older boys in Duncombe began tossing a baseball around in the grassy area surrounding the old school. Having gone to country schools for my first three years, the sight of those teens became my first indication that there was a game being played with a small, hard white ball and lathed sticks of ash wood.
I didn't know it at the time, but the game introduced to me on the playground of the old Duncombe school would become an almost vital part of my life. When the first Major League Baseball "Game of the Week" was broadcast, I was mesmerized by the spectacle shown on that small black and white Admiral television set.
I had never experienced such joy in my lifetime and I became quickly addicted. I literally lived for Saturday to arrive and with it the game of the week. In those days, of course, most television shows originated from New York City; hence, most game of the week broadcasts involved the New York Yankees, the Brooklyn Dodgers or the New York Giants. My complete absorbance of those few hours of television on Saturday afternoons were quickly augmented when I realized I could, for just a penny, buy a packet at Fisher's Drugstore that held a piece of sickly sweet bubble gum and a single baseball card.
Those cards, in color, brought a wide assortment of cards, each depicting a player on one of the eight Major League teams of the day. When I opened one of those packages and saw, for the first time, the Royal Blue and cloud-white uniform of the Brooklyn Dodgers, I was hooked. I became an instant Dodger fan, more because of what I thought were the beautiful home uniforms than for any player. I didn't know Jackie Robinson from Whitey Ford, didn't realize that Jackie Robinson, only a few years earlier, had knocked down the color barrier.
Shoot, I was too young to realize that Jackie Robinson was a black man and that Whitey Ford was a white man. No, it was a couple years later that I realized that difference existed not only in baseball but everywhere in America.
But, in the first year when I discovered baseball, everything was colorless, just like the images I saw on the small black and white television at home.
I wanted to play the game and I silently stood on the sidelines as older boys in Duncombe played games on an old dirt diamond adjoining the schoolhouse. I must have been a nuisance, or maybe I was just another "body" to fill a position in a game that used 18 players, but rarely had more than seven or eight.
"Stand out there in right field," one of the older boys pointed. I obediently took up a position not far behind first base (there was no first baseman as I recall; a runner was out if a player fielded the ball and threw it toward an open space between the runner and first base). The first time a ball was hit in my direction, I ran toward the ball, didn't hear the warning shouts of others and ran smack dab into a telephone pole, coming away with a bruised cheek and equally bruised ego.
Despite that inauspicious debut in organized baseball, I became hooked. I got better with age and played baseball in junior high, high school, college, and on various town teams. I even played throughout my Military years and spent a summer in Sweden pitching for the Swedish National Champion team in the small village of Leksand. I was even fortunate to have pitched the first no-hitter in Swedish baseball history that summer of 1968.
Even after my playing days ended, Springtime has remained an important part of my life. I've watched winters come and go and new baseball seasons begin for almost 70 years now, and I never tire of the openers.
As a sportswriter in Wausau, Wis., I even sat in the press box at Milwaukee's County Stadium and covered the first game ever played by the Milwaukee Brewers (Milwaukee, as I recall, lost to the California Angels that day, 10-0). I continued playing the game until finally damaging my right shoulder to a point that I no longer could throw without pain. It was only then that I quit.
But my love of the sport has endured. My love of the Brooklyn Dodgers soon became a love for the Chicago Cubs. I've now lived long enough to see the Cubs win a World Series.


text:
def good_guess?(n)
  if n == 42
    return true
  else
    return false
  end
end


This is 2 rolls x 5 metre lengths of lovely pinks and greys washi tape. Each roll of tape is 15mm in width and 5 metres in length, and is perfect for adding to your handmade craft and altered art projects. We are an 'Angel' company and you are welcome to use our rubber stamps and other products to create handmade artwork to sell.


text:
Minnesota's big health plans ended year 2017 in the black
Published 6:43 pm Tuesday, April 3, 2018
By Minnesota Public Radio
A sign on the door of Briva Health, MNsure's largest enrollment partner. - Mark Zdechlik/MPR News
By Mark Zdechlik, Minnesota Public Radio News
Minnesota health insurance companies were able to replenish reserves rather than draw from them to cover losses in 2017. A Council of Health Plans statement issued Tuesday said, as a whole, the companies saw premium revenue of $27.6 billion. That topped expenses by 0.8 percent.
Last year was marked by a lot of churn in Minnesota health insurance markets, said Council president Jim Schowalter.
"As care gets more expensive, people are doing whatever they can to find the best possible options to care for themselves and their families," Schowalter said. "For 2017, a lot of people switched between employer group and individual health insurance or the other way around."
The health plans lost money on Medicaid and other public health insurance programs last year, Schowalter said, as expenses outpaced revenue.
Still, the health insurance companies collectively were able to place $307.9 million in reserves last year, Schowalter said.
Enrollment in small- and large-group coverage and Medicare and Medicaid plans was up from the previous year, but the number of Minnesotans who bought their own non-group coverage plunged 35 percent over the year ending in December.
Last year was the first that health plans did not lose money in the non-group market since reforms in the Affordable Care Act took hold in 2014. Schowalter said higher premiums and lower medical usage drove the relative stability in Minnesota's 2017 individual market.


text:
PJM/PJTV Exclusive: Texas Republican Reacts to Local Democratic Civil War
By Bryan Preston 2010-10-20T17:48:55
Williamson County, Texas, just north of Austin, is a fairly conservative county. Its largest city, Round Rock, is among the fastest growing cities in the nation, thanks in no small part to the flood of high tech jobs centered on Dell Computers' international headquarters being located there. In spite of its conservative reputation, Williamson County voters elected liberal Democrat Diana Maldonado to the Texas House in the 2008 Obama wave to represent District 52. This year, Maldonado faces a very strong challenger in Republican Larry Gonzales. Gonzales received a very unexpected endorsement Tuesday, when the Williamson County Democratic Party chairman, Greg Windham, resigned his post and endorsed Gonzales on his way out. In resigning, Windham posted the following:
It is quite apparent that many members of the Williamson County Democratic Party leadership are interested in following a more liberal national agenda than listening to the majority of their constituents here locally. As a fifth-generation Texan and longtime supporter of Conservative, Texas principles, I find myself isolated within the party ranks and unable to relay my message of fiscal responsibility, family values, free-markets, and fair play.
The divisive, rigid leadership with the State and local party have made it clear from the beginning of this term that they have no interest in my opinions; engaging in personal name calling, the marginalization of the Chair's voice, and claiming my Texas ideals are out of touch.
I have a hatred of tyranny and contempt for its tools and being that I cannot sit down quietly and allow my mind be used for the spreading of an agenda that will further divide our citizenry, I choose now to resign as Chairman.
As one Texas blog put it, Windham's post amounts to a Blue Dog Democrat's 99 Theses on the Wittenberg chapel door. If the mainstream media is sincerely looking for a party in civil war, they should look no farther than Texas, and center-right regions like Williamson County.
State Rep. Maldonado's reaction to Windham? She called Windham a criminal and suggested that he needs psychiatric care. That's left-wing tolerance of dissenting opinion for you.
On Wednesday, Gonzales made a campaign stop in Round Rock. I caught up with him, iPhone in hand, and asked him about the situation and what it means for his campaign to replace Maldonado in the Texas House of Representatives.
After November, when Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Barack Obama will have led the national Democrats to their Waterloo, the Democrats will be in the unenviable position of having had all the levers of power and demonstrated that they can't be trusted with any of them. They will be headed by a man who overpromised to his left flank while betraying the center, and will have shown that all of his gauzy hope and change rhetoric was a false front. Blue Dogs like Greg Windham will have to either do what he did -- resign -- or fight to reclaim their party from its left-wing fringe. Thus, Windham's move this week may signal a post-November war for the soul and direction of what's left of the Democratic Party. It's either that, or write off states like Texas for years and years to come.
https://pjmedia.com/blog/pjmpjtv-exclusive-texas-republican-reacts-to-local-democratic-civil-war/


text:
package apollo.gui;

import junit.framework.TestCase;

import java.io.File;

import java.util.Set;

public class GenericFileFilterTest extends TestCase {

	//instance variables
	GenericFileFilter filter;

	protected void setUp() throws Exception {
		super.setUp();
		filter = new GenericFileFilter("Test filter");
	}

	public void testAcceptFile() {
		filter.addExtension("txt");
		assertTrue(filter.accept(new File("test.txt")));
	}

	public void testGetDescription() {
		assertEquals("getDescription()", "Test filter", filter.getDescription());
	}

	public void testSetDescription() {
		filter.setDescription("Foo");
		assertEquals("setDescription()", "Foo", filter.getDescription());
	}

	public void testAddExtension() {
		filter.addExtension("doc");
		assertTrue(filter.accept(new File("foo.doc")));
	}

	public void testGetExtensions() {
		filter.addExtension("txt");
		Set<String> exts = filter.getExtensions();
		assertEquals("getExtensions()", 1, exts.size());
		assertEquals("getExtensions()", true, exts.contains("txt"));
	}

}


text:
Партизанските формирования на Македоно-одринското опълчение са български военни части, участвали в Балканската и Междусъюзническата война в 1912 – 1913 година.

На практика почти целият личен състав – команден и войнишки, се състои от бивши четници и войводи на Вътрешната македоно-одринска революционна организация и Върховния македоно-одрински комитет.

Предистория
В началото на 1912 година деейците на ВМОК майор Петър Дървингов и подполковник Александър Протогеров, председател на Изпълнителния комитет на македоно-одринските братства, разработват писмен проект за подготовка и изпращане на партизански части в тила на противника при евентуална война с Османската империя. Проектът предвижда формиране на 52 партизански чети с числен състав около 1250 души, които имат за цел да разрушават комуникациите, да овладяват важни пунктове и да въоръжават местното българско население.

Формиране

На 18 септември 1912 година, ден след обявяването на мобилизацията, Изпълнителният комитет на братствата изпраща окръжно до всички местни ръководства, с което се подканват мъжете бежанци да се записват доброволци във формиращите се чети. В същия ден хиляди доброволци се явяват в мобилизационните пунктове и началник щаба на Действащата армия генерал-майор Иван Фичев натоварва Дървингов и Протогеров официално с организирането на партизанските чети. Дървингов и Протогеров заедно с дейците на ВМОК подполковник Стефан Николов, ротмистър Димитър Атанасов и капитан Стоян Величков формират Щаб на партизанските отряди, който още на 18 изготвя "Правилник за доброволческите чети, които ще действат в Македония и Одринско в Освободителната война". Според този правилник всички чети са част от Българската армия и приемат нейната организационна структура – отделение, взвод, рота. Поставени са им предимно диверсионни и разузнавателни задачи, както и организирането на милиция от местни българи в заетите територии и "запазването на българското население" от действията на османските войски и башибозук. Четите при необходимост могат да се обединяват.

След мобилизацията ЩПО формира 59 партизански взвода (чети), една самостоятелна партизанска дружина от две роти и четири отделни партизански роти. Четите са оглавени от бивши войводи на ВМОРО и ВМОК – Тодор Александров, Михаил Герджиков, Христо Силянов, Георги Попхристов, Дончо Златков, Ефрем Чучков, Петко Пенчев и т.н., които са произведени в звание подпоручик или фелдфебел, ако вече нямат военни звания подобно на капитан Никола Парапанов, капитан Георги Тодоров, фелдфебел Христо Чернопеев, фелдфебел Кръстьо Николов Българията и други.

Македоно-одринското опълчение по изрично настояване на сръбското правителство е изпратено в Тракия, но партизанските чети са изпратени в Македония. В края на септември 53 чети заминават за Македония – 17 чети са изпратени в Битолския революционен окръг, 8 – в Скопския, а основната им част трябва да действат по теченията на Струма и Места, тоест в Серския, Струмишкия и Солунския окръг, като подпомагат българското настъпление. За Македония са предвидени и четирите партизански роти. Останалите 6 партизански чети, както и самостоятелната партизанска дружина на Михаил Герджиков са изпратени в Одринска Тракия – Странджа, Родопите и Беломорието.

Освен формираните на българска територия чети на МОО в Османската империя спонтанно се сформират и местни доброволески чети, които действат с армията или самостоятелно. Отделно действията на войската са подпомогнати и от местните чети на ВМОРО, които по сведения на Дървингов са 34, но реално са много повече – в Солунски окръг според околийския войвода Михаил Радев действат 6 околийски и 1 инструкторска чета, в Битолски окръг – 10 чети, в Серски – 5, в Скопски – 7, в Солунски – 6, в Струмишки – 6.

Така на българска територия са формирани 70 доброволчески чети, отряди и дружини, които заедно с четите на ВМОРО правят над 110 чети и над 3000 четници. Заедно със селската милиция и местните чети общият брой на четниците в Македония и Тракия е над 15 000 души.

Структура и личен състав

Вижте също
 Партизански отряд на Единадесета пехотна македонска дивизия

Бележки


The immersive, full-sensory virtual driving experience is controlled by 30 emotional, cognitive and physical inputs to create a unique environment with landscape, color and music changing in real-time to reflect the driver's moods. It is inspired by the brand's performance technologies that define the Acura driving experience.
To experience Acura "Mood Roads," guests will enter a spherical motion simulator equipped with a performance driver's seat and 30 biometric sensors, measuring 24 integration points including the user's brain waves, heartbeat and facial expressions. Once buckled in, guests will embark on a journey customized and based on the driver's mood as interpreted by the biometric sensors.
Created by AOR MullenLowe with an assist from George P. Johnson and Spinifex Group, "Mood Roads" takes each guest down a virtual road in an abstract environment, bringing to life the road's curves, twists and turns through the motion simulator, all responding in real-time to the driver's emotional, cognitive and physical inputs. The visual journey is viewed by the driver as a large projection on the inside of the "Mood Roads"sphere, accompanied by music specifically composed for differing experiences and other sound effects inspired by Acura vehicles, including the NSX supercar. It is a highly personal 90-second journey with no two experiences being identical.
Consumers at other festivals or auto shows might be able to experience "Mood Roads" in the future, says Jessica Fini, manager, Acura new media strategy and activation.
Acura is a presenting sponsor and official vehicle sponsor at the film fest which runs January 20-28. This is the automaker's seventh year sponsoring the event.
The immersive experience for guests who check into the Festival Village Presented by Acura begins with signing up for a custom-branded RFID wristband, which enables attendees to check-in throughout the village, capture sharable social content and view the 2017 Acura NSX on display.
Outdoors, guests can experience performances on the Acura Stage. Celebrity guests who visit the Acura Studio at the festival will sign the hood of an NSX mounted in the press junket space to benefit the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. Also on display is a full-size NSX ice sculpture.


Dog fighting occurs in every part of the country and in every type of community. Pottawattamie County Animal Control and the Pottawattamie County Sheriff's Office are working to ensure that canines are safe from this cruel sport.
Click Here to view our Dog Fighting Awareness Flier.
Dog Fighting – You could do more to help than you think!
Dog fighters are often involved in illegal gambling, the sale and possession of drugs, as well as illegal weapons.
Dog fighters and spectators have a history of violent and criminal behavior toward people.
Dog fighting is another entertainment activity for gangs.
Dogs trained for fighting have been known to viciously attack innocent people for no apparent reason.
Research shows young children who view this type of violence have a greater acceptance of aggressive attitudes and behavior. These children are taught to believe that it's okay to inflict the cruelties they observe and that dog fighting is an acceptable practice.
Just because your neighbor owns a pit bull does not mean that he or she is a dog fighter.
Observing adolescents and/or adults with dogs, going to or coming from a site, should peak your curiosity. The party like atmosphere surrounding a dog fight is noticeable. Spectators cheer for their chosen dog as the bets stack up. Growling and barking, especially if other breeds of dogs are being used, is sometimes recognizable.
VIOLENCE AND ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD!
Remember that violence, weapons and illegal activities go hand-in-hand with dog fighting. Report any suspected dog fighting by calling the S.T.A.R (Stop.The.Abuse.and Report.) Tip Line at 712-328-5737. Your report will be kept confidential to the maximum extent possible. It is up to you and your neighbors to spread the word that dog fighting is not acceptable!


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Our Taste of Kerala tour includes visits to major cities, tea estates, wildlife areas and beach fronts and it involves a good mix of relaxation and spa treatments, touristy monuments, traditional cultural activities and many ways to see wildlife in their natural habitats! We recommend this tour to first timers in India or Kerala, and people who want to see a bit of everything that Kerala has to offer.
As per your arrival in Trivandrum, our local driver will be waiting to transfer you to Kovalam which is famous for its many beaches. Take a rest, and as per your preferred timing, our driver will be waiting to transfer you to Lighthouse Beach where you can enjoy a meal at the famous 'German Bakery' or just enjoy the evening entertainment at the beach or a stroll to the famous lighthouse. Return to the hotel for overnight stay.
After a leisurely breakfast, our driver will transfer you to the nearby backwaters where you can enjoy a boat trip amidst beautiful coconut trees and beach facing amenities. Enjoy some fresh local seafood cuisine on one of the floating restaurants before making your way back to the port and returning to our prearranged hotel accommodation for overnight stay.
After an early breakfast you will make your way to Alleppey where you can check into our luxury houseboat and enjoy an enchanting overnight backwater cruise on a traditionally decorated houseboat! Enjoy home-cooked meals throughout the evening and watch the daily life on the waterways. Overnight stay in the houseboat.
After a traditional south Indian breakfast, you will return to the docking station where our driver will be waiting to take you to beautiful Thekkady which is known for being one of the world's most fascinating wildlife reserves in all of India. On your arrival, you can enjoy a visit to one of the famous Spice Plantations where you can roam amongst the gardens and learn all about the different plants which are used to harvest various Indian spices as well as making traditional Ayurvedic medicine. After hotel check in, you can enjoy a light stroll in the small local market where you can shop for local handicrafts such as body oils, fried banana chips, spices etc. In the evening, if your interest permits, our driver will transfer you the tourist entertainment precinct where you can see a traditional Keralan cultural show. Return to the hotel for overnight stay.
After a very early breakfast you will make your way to Periyar Lake for an early morning boat cruise, where you will have a chance to see elephants, wild boar, spotted deer, monkeys and a variety of birdlife near the water edges. Return to the hotel for free time, optional spa treatments and overnight stay.
After breakfast you will transfer to Munnar – said to be the most beautiful (and green!) hill-stations in all of India. Situated at the confluence of three mountain streams - Muthirapuzha, Nallathanni and Kundale, Munnar is home to many lush green rolling hills and tea plantations and you can even enjoy a visit to the Tea museum! Overnight stay in Munnar.
After a leisurely breakfast in the hotel, you can proceed for a half day of scenic driving as you make your way Mattupetty Dam and Echo point. If you feel like a short hike, our driver will transfer you to Eravikulam National Park where you can explore the are on foot - with a chance to spot the endangered 'Nilgiri Tahr'. Return to the hotel for rest and overnight stay.
Today you will transfer to your final destination of Kochin where you can check in to the prearranged hotel. If interest permits, our driver will collect you and transfer you to one of the many local churchs where you can participate in a mass.
After breakfast you will proceed for a full day of local sightseeing. Start with a visit to Fort Kochi where you can visit the Portuguese influenced 'Santa Cruz Cathedral' via 'Rose Street' (which has a typically European feel). Next, make your way to Mattancherry (the Jewish town) where you can step inside the synagogue and enjoy some free time for shopping or perusing the local market. In the evening, our driver will transfer you to the Fort Kochin beach area where you can witness the ancient technique of throwing nets into the water to catch fish. Return to the hotel for overnight stay.
Our driver will collect you from the hotel and transfer you to Kochin airport as per your flight timing.


Kylie McColl is a senior tutor for the School of Computing and Information Systems at the University of Melbourne. Prior to her employment at the university, she worked as a secondary mathematics and computer science teacher, TAFE teacher and as an analyst/programmer in custom software development. Kylie McColl is interested in increasing the quality and diversity of computer science education across Australia.


text:
Home / Church Community / Articles / Debating welfare
Debating welfare
The debate over social welfare is again in the spotlight.
Welfare in New Zealand
The New Zealand Government's Welfare Working Group has presented its final report, with the aim of identifying how to reduce long-term welfare dependency.
It's easy to agree with this goal. No one would argue that having some 325,000 people dependent long-term on a minimal welfare payment is a good thing—either for beneficiaries or for the nation. What is easy to overlook, though, is how the welfare debate is being re-defined as a personal issue and a personal responsibility. Deeply embedded in this thinking, is a stereotype of beneficiaries 'choosing' to be on welfare.
The Alternative Welfare Working Group, set up by NGOs to challenge the Government's perspective, notes that most people find themselves on benefits 'as a consequence of something horrible happening'[1] and not as a personal choice. Other commentators have sensed that the Welfare Working Group seems to be more troubled with how to contain and manage 'throw-away people'—the people who we 'write off' and declare to be 'use-less'.[2]
Where is the work?
The Welfare Working Group is concerned with 'better work outcomes'. There's no doubt that meaningful, paid work is critical for both personal development and the productivity of our nation. But where is this work?
Paula Rebstock, chair of the Welfare Working Group, says our economy has created some 500,000 jobs since 1986, and to question whether or not there is work is a 'cop out'[3]. But Tim Watkin, a political commentator with Pundit, challenges this:
'The New Zealand economy creates and destroys hundreds of thousands of jobs every year ... In 2006, at the peak of our recent economic growth, we had a net gain of roughly 30,000 jobs. In much tougher times, 2008, the net gain was barely 9000 jobs. If you can figure out how 325,000 goes into 9000, you're better at maths than I am.'[4]
A tutor of a 'Back-to-Work' programme—a collaborative employment project between The Salvation Army and Work and Income—spoke with me about how difficult it is to get people back in to work:
'I deal with the most vulnerable, people with criminal offences … recovering from addictions and with those who have been out of the work force for a long time. These days, these people face a long line of competition at every job interview … And they're up against it every time … They're up against prejudice … they're up against experience … they're up against reality. What employer is going to choose a convicted criminal, a recovering addict or a person who has been out of the workforce for a long time, over someone who has a clean record and recent job experience? There's always hope—but it's rare.'
More than economics
The Welfare Working Group contends that social welfare is a financial drain on the public coffers, a 'liability' to the state and—extending this logic—to taxpayers (which ignores the fact that even welfare beneficiaries pay taxes)[5]. By 2050, they argue, welfare could cost the public purse more than $50 billion. However, this is a highly-inflated and politicised figure that has already been widely disputed: '[The] $50 billion figure is rather meaningless ... concocted to paint the benefit system as an intolerable financial burden,' says John Armstrong, a political journalist for The Herald.[6]
These directives of the Welfare Working Group capture some of the intense divisiveness and electioneering that is currently dominating the welfare debate. So is there more to welfare reform than economic concerns and populist politics? Is this a fair and full interpretation of what is social welfare?
In its submission to the Welfare Working Group, The Salvation Army's Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit states:
'We know, through our own experiences in working with tens of thousands of poor and needy New Zealanders each year, that this problem of dependency is not as widespread or corrosive as some people would have the New Zealand public believe. We believe the emphasis on benefit dependency builds a sense of resentment toward New Zealanders living on benefits from working New Zealanders and that this is not helpful in any discussion where big long-term questions are being considered and where we hope to arrive at some new consensus around the way forward.'[7]
Am I my brother's keeper?
The public debates that encircle welfare is essentially about answering the ancient (and timeless) moral question: 'Am I my brother's keeper?' (Genesis 4:9). Any review or reform of our welfare system should not be confined to merely 'benefit dependency', cost-cutting economics, or rational instrumental calculations. Welfare is a complex moral and ethical debate that includes the concerns of equity and the demands of justice; it is a debate about our shared responsibilities and what it means to live together.
As sociologist Zygmunt Bauman observes:
… there is, let us be frank, no 'good reason' why we should be our brother's keeper, why we should care, why we should be moral … Morality has only itself to support it: it is better to care than to wash one's hands, better to be in solidarity with the unhappiness of the other than indifferent, and altogether better to be moral, even if this does not make people wealthier and the companies more profitable.[8]
If left to dominate the public welfare debate, issues of 'dependency' and 'funding'—while critically important—will, in the end, individualise the problem and 'demonise' individuals. In the imagery of Bauman, we're facing the haunting, immoral possibility of entire groups of people becoming 'disposable'.
What does Noah have to do with it?
There is, lurking within the individualising spin of the Welfare Working Group, the echo of a different biblical event: the 'failure' of Noah. Although the Bible states three times that Noah obeyed God and got on with the construction of the ark, there is a contentious twist to this story, argues Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the Commonwealth:
'Throughout the whole of the narrative—the warning of the deluge, the building of the ark, the gathering of the animals, the beginning of the rain—Noah says nothing … In Jewish folklore Noah became a tzaffik im peltz, "a righteous man in a fur coat". There are two ways of keeping warm on a cold night: buying a fur coat or lighting a fire. Buy a coat and you keep yourself warm. Light a fire and you keep others warm also. Noah, the righteous man, fails to exercise collective responsibility.'[9]
The Welfare Working Group is advocating for people to 'buy a fur coat'—to see the welfare as a personal problem and a personal responsibility. But a fair and sustainable practice of social welfare demands a collective response. Welfare is our shared responsibility, a remembrance of something of the 'sacred value' of each other.
The timeless lesson of Noah is that 'responsibility extends beyond the self. "It is not good for man to be alone". We are part of society, sharing its rewards when it does well; its guilt when it does wrong.'[10]
As The Salvation Army also stated in our submission to the Welfare Working Group:
A broader review of welfare is required and in our view, this review should address the serious questions of inequality in New Zealand, including questions of inequality of opportunity, inequality of incomes and wealth and even the inequality in what New Zealanders aspire to. We believe that the Welfare Working Group has not set its sights high enough in its attempt to consider the question of the future of welfare and we urge it to do so during the remainder of its task.[11]
As the dismantling of the welfare state continues, The Salvation Army will also continue to juggle the demands of 'crisis' encounters with a longer-term view of a new community. These meetings of need and hope, have always been and will always be, the starting point and the promise of social welfare.
By Malcolm Irwin (The Social Policy & Parliamentary Unit)
stay informed with how the welfare debate is progressing
sit down with someone on a benefit and learn how they experience welfare
volunteer at a food bank to and see the incredible demand that there is for welfare support
advocate, by communicating with your local MP, for a public welfare system that is fair and responsive to the needs of the marginalised and vulnerable
exercise your imagination and get involved with others in actively creating alternative practices of welfare within neighbourhoods
experiment with projects that bring both the poor and the rich into close proximity and that strengthen a sense of collective responsibility and togetherness
share with others what works
> Read the full discussion paper Ancient Questions and Welfare Futures
> Read our submission to the Welfare Working Groups Issues Paper on Long-Term Benefit Dependency
Alternative Working Group, 2010, 'Welfare Justice', pg. 7.
Edgar C. Cahn, 2004, No More Throwaway People.
'Q+A', cited in Tim Watkin, 'Do we get tough or take the "corduroy option"', The Pundit, November 30, 2010.
Tim Watkin, ibid.
Welfare Working Group Cabinet Paper, Office of Minister for Social Development and Employment, 2010, pg. 20
John Armstrong, 'Huge Numbers Only Part of the Benefit Story', NZ Herald, August 14, 2010.
Salvation Army submission to the Welfare Working Groups Issues Paper on Long-Term Benefit Dependency
Zygmunt Bauman, 2000, 'Am I My Brother's Keeper?', European Journal of Social Work, Vol. 3, No.1, pg.11.
Jonathan Sacks, 2005, To Heal a fractured World—The Ethics of Responsibility, pg.141.
Sacks, ibid, pg. 142.
Salvation Army submission, ibid.
Why we supported Māori wards
A reflection on the Māori ward referendum results, by Colson Verdonk—who led the Army's work in supporting Māori wards.
I am not your slave
Andrew Wallis was a pastor in the UK city of Bristol when a team from his church visited Ukraine and found themselves paying off a trafficker to...
The Salvation Army is not apolitical
Exploring the non-partisan nature of The Salvation Army's engagement in the public sphere. What place does politics have in a life of faith?
When words hurt and hinder
Part of a series of occasional articles from The Salvation Army's Moral and Social Issues Council.


text:
Opening Plenary: Lessons from Leaders
The conference will kick-off with a panel conversation featuring prominent leaders in the sector who will share creative and effective strategies to attract, retain and develop a strong and stable workforce.
Led by moderator Tammy Dowley-Blackman, VP of CFLeads and Principal of tdb group, panelists John Bradley, COO of Year Up (named a 2014 & 2015 Best Place to Work by the Nonprofit Times), Nonprofit HR CEO Lisa Brown Morton, and Stewart Lanier, Director of Consulting & Executive Transitions at Third Sector New England, will discuss emerging trends, tried and true best practices, and creative methods to support your organization's human capital to better meet your mission.
The opening session will set the tone for the day and set you on track to gain skills and tools to strengthen yourself, your staff, and the sector.
Tammy Dowley-Blackman
Tammy is an author, entrepreneur, leadership expert, nonprofit executive, philanthropic leader and professor. She is the Vice President of CFLeads where she supports community foundation leadership development and is assisting the organization to build its consulting practice. In addition, she is the Principal of the consulting firm tdb group, which specializes in organizational and infrastructure development with projects as varied as board development, program design, strategic planning and research and analysis. In addition, Tammy served as the Director of the Proteus Fund Diversity Fellowship and is the former Executive Director of two nationally-affiliated nonprofits. To date, Tammy has given over 150 presentation and workshop trainings. She also serves as a professor of Nonprofit Management at Cambridge College and Lesley University and is a former Senior Fellow at the Institute for Nonprofit Management and Leadership. Tammy is a graduate of Oberlin College and Harvard Graduate School of Education.
John joined Year Up as Chief Operating Officer in July 2015, after serving as a member of the National Board of Directors and chair of its Human Capital Committee for six years. Before joining Year Up, John served as the Global Head of Human Resources at UBS AG. He provided global support to businesses whose employee base comprised about 60,000 staff. Prior to taking this role at UBS, John served as Chief Human Resources Officer at JPMorgan Chase and was a member of the firm's Operating and Executive Committees. He has served as Non-Executive Director of the London-based Coalition Development Corporation and was formerly the Board Chair of INROADS/NYC. He was also a member of the South Orange/Maplewood, NJ Board of Education from 1991 to 1997, and served as its Chair from 1992-1994. John earned a B.S. from Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations as well as an MBA at Cornell's Johnson Business School.
Stewart Lanier
As the Director of Consulting and Executive Transitions at Third Sector New England, Stewart has worked with numerous clients over the last eight years, leading executive searches, serving as an interim executive, leading strategic planning and organizational assessment processes. He has provided a wide range of consulting and interim leadership services to nonprofits, community and faith-based organizations for over 20 years. He is a United Methodist pastor, and maintains his ordination in good standing in the New England Conference of that denomination. Stewart is a member of the White People Challenging Racism facilitator group and co-facilitates this anti-racism class at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education and other locations each year. Stewart holds a Master of Science degree with distinction from American University's NTL program in Organizational Development, as well as the M.Div. from Candler School of Theology, Emory University.
Lisa Brown Morton
Lisa is the President and CEO of Nonprofit HR and has spoken all over the world on the subject of human resources.. Under her direction, Nonprofit HR has served some of the most prominent organizations in the country, including Amnesty International, Independent Sector and NeighborWorks America. With more than two decades of human resource management experience working with nonprofits and for-profit organizations, Lisa has proven that better HR can play an integral role in nonprofit success. She serves on the board of directors of the DC Rape Crisis Center and the Prince Georges Cultural Arts Foundation. Lisa is a graduate of Howard University in Washington D.C., a member of the Society for Human Resources Management and serves on the board of directors of the DC Rape Crisis Center and the Prince Georges Cultural Arts Foundation.
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