text:
IGERT Stories
Disappearing by Rapid Inversion
3. Running Cockroaches, Geckos and Robots Swing like a Pendulum Under Ledges.
Biological and Bio-inspired Motion Systems Operating in...
University of California at Berkeley
Primary Strategic Goal:
Discovery: Foster research that will advance the frontiers of knowledge, emphasizing areas of greatest opportunity and potential benefit and establishing the Nation as a global leader in fundamental transformational science and engineering.
Secondary Strategic Goal:
Learning: Build the Nation's research capability through critical investments in advanced instrumentation, facilities, cyber infrastructure, and experimental tools.
Achievement/Results
IGERT Trainee Jean-Michel Mongeau, Principal Investigator (PI) Robert Full, Co-PI Ron Fearing and our team of biologists and engineers from the University of California at Berkeley discovered a new behavior in animals and translated this capability to a search-and-rescue robot prototype. Support by a National Science Foundation-sponsored Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) in Bio- and Bio-inspired Motion Systems Operating in Complex Environments provided the unique interdisciplinary research opportunity in UC Berkeley's Center for interdisciplinary Biological-inspiration in Education and Research (CiBER) where it became possible.
Serendipitously, our team found that rapid running insects and geckos seemingly disappear as they approach a ledge by using a rapid inversion behavior to swing underneath like a pendulum (Fig. 1). Our IGERT team's discovery was published in PLoS ONE, presented at the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology Meeting and featured in the NY Times and Science NOW. The discovery highlights the IGERT's interdisciplinary nature benefiting from a collaboration among biologists and engineers in five different departments. We all have had the experience of chasing tiny animal pests with the intention of their demise only to find that they have seemingly disappeared. Our IGERT team discovered a new behavior revealing the stealthy nature of small animals. Our team found that cockroaches and geckos can disappear from predators by running rapidly toward a ledge, diving off, attaching their feet by claws like a grappling hook, and using a pendular-like motion that can exceed one-meter-second can swing under a ledge to an inverted position, out of sight, in less time than a human can react, two-tenths of a second. "Small animals are incredibly maneuverable in part because they are small," emphasizes Jean-Michel Mongeau, lead author, graduate student in biophysics and IGERT Trainee. He noted that animals the size of a one gram insect have an eight-fold greater ability to rotate than humans, making the animal's extraordinary gymnastic-like maneuvers effortless.
Serendipitously, the team discovered the behavior in cockroaches while testing the animal's athleticism in crossing gaps using their antennae. Brian McRae, undergraduate bioengineer, described, "While studying a completely different behavior with our high-speed video cameras, we were surprised to find the insect gone. After searching, we discovered it upside-down under the ledge." After close inspection of the video, our team discovered that the cockroach was using its legs as grappling hooks by engaging its claws at the tip of the ledge (Fig. 2). Removing the claws caused the animal to fail by flipping over and falling to the ground. Our team then questioned if this behavior was unique to cockroaches, so we suggested that the students try geckos. A previous discovery from IGERT PI Full's laboratory has shown lizards to be highly acrobatic, using their tails to right themselves when falling, stabilize their body during leaping, and even steer during gliding. To our astonishment, the gecko showed the same rapid inversion behavior, swinging under the ledge at nearly one thousand degrees per second (Fig. 1b,2).
Escaping in the fields of Southeast Asia. Our team wondered whether rapid inversion was a behavior used in the field to escape predators. Fortuitously, Integrative Biology graduate student, Ardian Jusufi, was in a lowland tropical rainforest at the Wildlife Reserve in Singapore studying the gliding of the very same geckos. To his surprise, he found that a gecko chased to the end of a broken Bird's Nest Fern leaf disappeared. Using high-speed video, he showed that geckos used rapid inversion, just as observed in the laboratory, suggesting they could escape predators with this behavior.
A swinging pendulum as a model. When modeling the new behavior, our team could see that the motion was not comparable to a bungee-cord like dive or to a passively swinging pendulum. Gaining insight from the only comparable, well-studied behavior, the brachiation of Gibbons, our team showed the rapid inversion escape behavior in cockroaches and geckos could be explained by the same simple swinging pendulum, but with a starting velocity. IGERT Trainee Mongeau points out, "the animals could run at nearly a meter per second to the ledge and then transfer 75% of that energy into a swing we could only see by high-speed video." From Nature to robot prototype. By forming an interdisciplinary team of biologists and engineers from five departments, the new rapid inversion behavior inspired the design of a legged robot that begins to demonstrate this enhanced maneuverability. Using the cockroach-inspired hexapedal robot DASH (Dynamic Autonomous Sprawled Hexapod), IGERT Co-PI Ron Fearing and his group of engineers simulated the claw action by attaching a pad of Velcro hooks on the hind legs of the robot. They glued the "loop" side of the Velcro on the substrate near and underneath the ledge. Although only a prototype and not quite as effective as the animals, the robot completed the new behavior (Fig 1c,3). Fearing concluded, "If we want search-and-rescue robots to assist us in the rubble left after an earthquake, tornado or explosion or have greater capability to more rapidly detect chemical, biological or nuclear hazards, we must build far more agile robots with animal-like maneuverability."
Address Goals
Primary Strategic Goal: Discovery. The goal of UC Berkeley's Center for interdisciplinary Biological-inspiration in Education and Research (CiBER) IGERT is to train biology and engineering PhD students how to develop mutualistic teams that energize transformative, interdisciplinary, basic research and translate fundamental discoveries into societal benefits. Current challenges in science, engineering, industry and society demand research-based skills as well as the ability to collaborate on diverse, interdisciplinary teams, but this is seldom taught explicitly. Our training program in Bio-inspired Motion Systems Operating in Complex Environments focuses on interdisciplinary collaboration to translate biological discoveries into engineered devices, and to apply new engineering approaches to generate hypotheses and tools for biological research.
The discovery of the rapid inversion behavior shows how an interdisciplinary approach can both advance the frontiers of knowledge and accelerate the translation towards a novel engineering advancement that can benefit society. Only through the unique combination of biologists, bioengineers, electrical, mechanical and control engineers could the present discovery and its translation have been made possible. Each group contributed knowledge and expertise so that the collective discovery was beyond what any single group could have imagined. In particular, the study shows the exceptional maneuverability of small animals. Animals the size of insects and geckos can seemingly maneuver in and around, up and down and sometimes through any degree of rubble at surprisingly fast speeds. Nature tells us that if we wish to rapidly find individuals trapped in rubble resulting from an earthquake or a terrorist bombing, then extracting the biomechanical principles from these acrobatic animals could provide just the needed solution to save lives. Engineers will now be able to further translate the inspiration from nature toward design of far more maneuverable search-and-rescue robots that will be able to save human lives directly or in disasters such as earthquakes, tornadoes, and explosions or by rapid detection of chemical, biological or nuclear hazards.
Secondary Strategic Goal: Learning. This IGERT sponsored research reinforced four important lessons. First, IGERT Trainee Jean-Michel Mongeau and an undergraduate researcher were actually attempting to test a hypothesis related to the potential gyroscopic function of insect antennae by attempting to have the insect jump a large gap. To their surprise, when the animal reached the ledge it seemed to disappear. After reorientation of the high-speed camera, they realized they had discovered a new behavior serendipitously. Students learned how important it is to be prepared to see observations that do not directly address those expected, but can be a solution to a completely novel question. Second, once the students discovered this novel behavior in the cockroach, they immediately wondered whether this was a general behavior or one restricted to a single species. To test generality, they chose to look at a legged runner from a completely separate taxa, an animal with an endoskeleton, a tail and four legs. To their surprise, again, a gecko could also execute the rapid conversion maneuver.
Students learned to search for general solutions and simple templates, like a swinging pendulum, that can apply to not only one species, but even to legged robots. Third, the study showed the importance of integrating both laboratory and field observations. After discovering the rapid inversion behavior, it was not clear if this simply was a laboratory artifact or something that animals can take advantage of in their natural habitat. Testing the hypothesis on gecko in the forests of South East Asia showed the relevance of this evasive maneuver for escape. Fourth, students were reminded once again, that you never know where fundamental research will lead. Students began by asking a question about a sensory structure, an antenna, but instead discovered a novel behavior that will increase the agility of future search-and-rescue robots.
Additional URLs:
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/06/v...
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/12/science/cockr...
Robert Full
See All Highlights
See All IGERT Stories
See All Achievements
Recognized Members (3)
Pauline Jennings
Jean-Michel Mongeau
More Highlight Photos
Click on image for larger version.
2. Stealth Behavior Gives Cockroaches Ninja-like Invisibility.


Meditation is a tool, a type of training to help us be more mindful during each day.
When we meditate, we find a quiet spot, adopt a strong but relaxed posture, perhaps close our eyes, and focus our attention on an object (for example, the physical sensation of breathing). When we notice any thoughts that occur, we let them go and return our attention to the chosen object. We practice paying attention rather getting lost in thought. This training helps us pay attention during our daily life.


Home › Latest News › 2FM's 'Play The Picnic' in aid of Jack & Jill is back!
2FM's 'Play The Picnic' in aid of Jack & Jill is back!
The exciting competition will see 10 of Ireland's best up-and-coming acts win a coveted live set at the country's biggest music and arts festival, Electric Picnic.
Bands, solo artists, singer-songwriters, DJs, rappers, hip-hop artists, you name it… acts of all musical persuasions will be invited to submit a track that they think will bag them a spot on the Play the Picnic Stage at this year's Electric Picnic.
Entrants should email a link to their track to playthepicnic@rte.ie (e.g. Soundcloud, WeTransfer, Mixcloud). Please do not send MP3 or other audio format files as they will not be counted as entries. One entry per act. Full terms and conditions are available on the 2FM Website.
Closing date for entries is Friday 22 June 2018.
After being whittled down to a list of 30 by an expert judging panel, the public will be invited to vote for their favourites – and by voting be in with a chance of winning tickets to this year's Electirc Picnic Festival. The 10 highest-ranking acts, as chosen by the public in a text vote will then be added to the bill at the Play the Picnic Stage at Electric Picnic.
In addition, the act from the final ten with the highest number of votes overall will play at one of Electric Picnic's larger stages, TheCosby Stage, granting them even more exposure to Picknickers.
They will also win a masterclass with Festival Republic MD Melvin Benn on how to get festival bookings for your band; a masterclass with 2fm on how to go about approaching radio stations and obtaining airplay; a studio session with some of Ireland's top sound engineers at 2fm's state-of-the-art studios; and have their song broadcast to the nation on 2fm.


The two April failures in Russia's GLONASS were caused by mathematical mistakes in software, according to Oleg Ostapenko, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos.
Russian newspaper Ria Novosti reported on a press conference where Ostapenko said that programmers who had designed the satellites' new software had made several mathematical mistakes, but the problem was not major and has practically been solved. "There were some mathematical mistakes, but they have been corrected," he said.
Ostapenko said that the remaining problems would be solved by mid-May, and there is almost no chance of a similar failure happening in the future.


text:
package fr.openwide.core.jpa.config.spring;

import static com.google.common.base.Strings.emptyToNull;

import java.util.HashSet;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Properties;
import java.util.Set;

import javax.persistence.SharedCacheMode;
import javax.persistence.spi.PersistenceProvider;
import javax.sql.DataSource;

import org.apache.lucene.analysis.Analyzer;
import org.hibernate.boot.model.naming.ImplicitNamingStrategy;
import org.hibernate.boot.model.naming.ImplicitNamingStrategyComponentPathImpl;
import org.hibernate.boot.model.naming.ImplicitNamingStrategyJpaCompliantImpl;
import org.hibernate.boot.model.naming.PhysicalNamingStrategy;
import org.hibernate.boot.model.naming.PhysicalNamingStrategyStandardImpl;
import org.hibernate.cache.ehcache.EhCacheRegionFactory;
import org.hibernate.cache.ehcache.SingletonEhCacheRegionFactory;
import org.hibernate.cfg.AvailableSettings;
import org.hibernate.cfg.Environment;
import org.hibernate.loader.BatchFetchStyle;
import org.hibernate.search.elasticsearch.cfg.ElasticsearchEnvironment;
import org.hibernate.search.store.impl.FSDirectoryProvider;
import org.hibernate.search.store.impl.RAMDirectoryProvider;
import org.springframework.aop.Advisor;
import org.springframework.aop.aspectj.AspectJExpressionPointcutAdvisor;
import org.springframework.orm.jpa.LocalContainerEntityManagerFactoryBean;
import org.springframework.orm.jpa.vendor.HibernateJpaVendorAdapter;
import org.springframework.transaction.PlatformTransactionManager;
import org.springframework.transaction.TransactionDefinition;
import org.springframework.transaction.interceptor.DefaultTransactionAttribute;
import org.springframework.transaction.interceptor.RollbackRuleAttribute;
import org.springframework.transaction.interceptor.RuleBasedTransactionAttribute;
import org.springframework.transaction.interceptor.TransactionInterceptor;
import org.springframework.util.StringUtils;

import com.google.common.collect.Lists;
import com.zaxxer.hikari.HikariDataSource;

import fr.openwide.core.jpa.business.generic.service.ITransactionalAspectAwareService;
import fr.openwide.core.jpa.config.spring.provider.IDatabaseConnectionPoolConfigurationProvider;
import fr.openwide.core.jpa.config.spring.provider.IJpaConfigurationProvider;
import fr.openwide.core.jpa.config.spring.provider.IJpaPropertiesProvider;
import fr.openwide.core.jpa.config.spring.provider.JpaPackageScanProvider;
import fr.openwide.core.jpa.exception.ServiceException;
import fr.openwide.core.jpa.hibernate.analyzers.CoreElasticSearchAnalyzersDefinitionProvider;
import fr.openwide.core.jpa.hibernate.analyzers.CoreLuceneAnalyzersDefinitionProvider;
import fr.openwide.core.jpa.hibernate.analyzers.CoreLuceneClientAnalyzersDefinitionProvider;
import fr.openwide.core.jpa.hibernate.jpa.PerTableSequenceStrategyProvider;
import fr.openwide.core.jpa.hibernate.model.naming.PostgreSQLPhysicalNamingStrategyImpl;

public final class JpaConfigUtils {

	private JpaConfigUtils() {}

	/**
	 * Construit un {@link LocalContainerEntityManagerFactoryBean} à partir d'un ensemble d'options usuelles.
	 */
	public static LocalContainerEntityManagerFactoryBean entityManagerFactory(IJpaConfigurationProvider provider) {
		LocalContainerEntityManagerFactoryBean entityManagerFactoryBean = new LocalContainerEntityManagerFactoryBean();

		entityManagerFactoryBean.setJpaVendorAdapter(new HibernateJpaVendorAdapter());
		entityManagerFactoryBean.setJpaProperties(getJpaProperties(provider));
		entityManagerFactoryBean.setDataSource(provider.getDataSource());
		entityManagerFactoryBean.setPackagesToScan(getPackagesToScan(provider.getJpaPackageScanProviders()));

		PersistenceProvider persistenceProvider = provider.getPersistenceProvider();
		if (persistenceProvider != null) {
			entityManagerFactoryBean.setPersistenceProvider(persistenceProvider);
		}

		return entityManagerFactoryBean;
	}

	public static Properties getJpaProperties(IJpaPropertiesProvider configuration) {
		Properties properties = new Properties();
		properties.setProperty(Environment.DEFAULT_SCHEMA, configuration.getDefaultSchema());
		properties.setProperty(Environment.DIALECT, configuration.getDialect().getName());
		properties.setProperty(Environment.HBM2DDL_AUTO, configuration.getHbm2Ddl());
		properties.setProperty(Environment.SHOW_SQL, Boolean.FALSE.toString());
		properties.setProperty(Environment.FORMAT_SQL, Boolean.FALSE.toString());
		properties.setProperty(Environment.GENERATE_STATISTICS, Boolean.FALSE.toString());
		properties.setProperty(Environment.USE_REFLECTION_OPTIMIZER, Boolean.TRUE.toString());
		properties.setProperty(Environment.CREATE_EMPTY_COMPOSITES_ENABLED,
				Boolean.valueOf(configuration.isCreateEmptyCompositesEnabled()).toString());
		Integer defaultBatchSize = configuration.getDefaultBatchSize();
		if (defaultBatchSize != null) {
			properties.setProperty(Environment.DEFAULT_BATCH_FETCH_SIZE, Integer.toString(defaultBatchSize));
			properties.setProperty(Environment.BATCH_FETCH_STYLE, BatchFetchStyle.PADDED.name());
		}

		String hibernateHbm2DdlImportFiles = configuration.getHbm2DdlImportFiles();
		if (StringUtils.hasText(hibernateHbm2DdlImportFiles)) {
			properties.setProperty(Environment.HBM2DDL_IMPORT_FILES, hibernateHbm2DdlImportFiles);
		}

		String ehCacheConfiguration = configuration.getEhCacheConfiguration();
		boolean singletonCache = configuration.isEhCacheSingleton();
		boolean queryCacheEnabled = configuration.isQueryCacheEnabled();
		if (StringUtils.hasText(ehCacheConfiguration)) {
			if (configuration.getEhCacheRegionFactory() != null) {
				properties.setProperty(Environment.CACHE_REGION_FACTORY, configuration.getEhCacheRegionFactory().getName());
			} else {
				if (singletonCache) {
					properties.setProperty(Environment.CACHE_REGION_FACTORY, SingletonEhCacheRegionFactory.class.getName());
				} else {
					properties.setProperty(Environment.CACHE_REGION_FACTORY, EhCacheRegionFactory.class.getName());
				}
			}
			properties.setProperty(AvailableSettings.JPA_SHARED_CACHE_MODE, SharedCacheMode.ENABLE_SELECTIVE.name());
			properties.setProperty(EhCacheRegionFactory.NET_SF_EHCACHE_CONFIGURATION_RESOURCE_NAME, ehCacheConfiguration);
			properties.setProperty(Environment.USE_SECOND_LEVEL_CACHE, Boolean.TRUE.toString());
			if (queryCacheEnabled) {
				properties.setProperty(Environment.USE_QUERY_CACHE, Boolean.TRUE.toString());
			} else {
				properties.setProperty(Environment.USE_QUERY_CACHE, Boolean.FALSE.toString());
			}
		} else {
			if (queryCacheEnabled) {
				throw new IllegalArgumentException("Could not enable query cache without EhCache configuration");
			}
			properties.setProperty(Environment.USE_SECOND_LEVEL_CACHE, Boolean.FALSE.toString());
			properties.setProperty(Environment.USE_QUERY_CACHE, Boolean.FALSE.toString());
		}

		String hibernateSearchIndexBase = configuration.getHibernateSearchIndexBase();

		if (configuration.isHibernateSearchElasticSearchEnabled()) {
			properties.setProperty(ElasticsearchEnvironment.ANALYZER_DEFINITION_PROVIDER, CoreElasticSearchAnalyzersDefinitionProvider.class.getName());
			properties.setProperty(org.hibernate.search.cfg.Environment.ANALYZER_DEFINITION_PROVIDER, CoreLuceneClientAnalyzersDefinitionProvider.class.getName());
			properties.setProperty("hibernate.search.default.indexmanager", "elasticsearch");
			properties.setProperty("hibernate.search.default.elasticsearch.host", configuration.getElasticSearchHost());
			properties.setProperty("hibernate.search.default.elasticsearch.index_schema_management_strategy", configuration.getElasticSearchIndexSchemaManagementStrategy());
		} else if (StringUtils.hasText(hibernateSearchIndexBase)) {
			properties.setProperty(org.hibernate.search.cfg.Environment.ANALYZER_DEFINITION_PROVIDER, CoreLuceneAnalyzersDefinitionProvider.class.getName());
			if (configuration.isHibernateSearchIndexInRam()) {
				properties.setProperty("hibernate.search.default.directory_provider", RAMDirectoryProvider.class.getName());
			} else {
				properties.setProperty("hibernate.search.default.directory_provider", FSDirectoryProvider.class.getName());
				properties.setProperty("hibernate.search.default.locking_strategy", "native");
			}

			properties.setProperty("hibernate.search.default.indexBase", hibernateSearchIndexBase);
			properties.setProperty("hibernate.search.default.exclusive_index_use", Boolean.TRUE.toString());
			properties.setProperty(org.hibernate.search.cfg.Environment.LUCENE_MATCH_VERSION,
					org.hibernate.search.cfg.Environment.DEFAULT_LUCENE_MATCH_VERSION.toString());
		} else {
			properties.setProperty("hibernate.search.autoregister_listeners", Boolean.FALSE.toString());
		}

		Class<? extends Analyzer> hibernateSearchDefaultAnalyzer = configuration.getHibernateSearchDefaultAnalyzer();
		if (hibernateSearchDefaultAnalyzer != null) {
			properties.setProperty(org.hibernate.search.cfg.Environment.ANALYZER_CLASS, hibernateSearchDefaultAnalyzer.getName());
		}

		String hibernateSearchIndexingStrategy = configuration.getHibernateSearchIndexingStrategy();
		if (StringUtils.hasText(hibernateSearchIndexingStrategy)) {
			properties.setProperty(org.hibernate.search.cfg.Environment.INDEXING_STRATEGY, hibernateSearchIndexingStrategy);
		}

		String validationMode = configuration.getValidationMode();
		if (StringUtils.hasText(validationMode)) {
			properties.setProperty(AvailableSettings.JPA_VALIDATION_MODE, validationMode);
		}

		// custom generator strategy provider that handles one sequence by entity
		properties.setProperty(org.hibernate.jpa.AvailableSettings.IDENTIFIER_GENERATOR_STRATEGY_PROVIDER,
				PerTableSequenceStrategyProvider.class.getName());

		Class<? extends ImplicitNamingStrategy> implicitNamingStrategy = configuration.getImplicitNamingStrategy();
		if (implicitNamingStrategy != null) {
			properties.setProperty(Environment.IMPLICIT_NAMING_STRATEGY, implicitNamingStrategy.getName());
		} else {
			throw new IllegalStateException(Environment.IMPLICIT_NAMING_STRATEGY + " may not be null: sensible values are "
					+ ImplicitNamingStrategyJpaCompliantImpl.class.getName() + " for OWSI-Core <= 0.7 or "
					+ ImplicitNamingStrategyComponentPathImpl.class.getName() + " for OWSI-Core >= 0.8");
		}

		Class<? extends PhysicalNamingStrategy> physicalNamingStrategy = configuration.getPhysicalNamingStrategy();
		if (physicalNamingStrategy != null) {
			properties.setProperty(Environment.PHYSICAL_NAMING_STRATEGY, physicalNamingStrategy.getName());
		} else {
			throw new IllegalStateException(Environment.PHYSICAL_NAMING_STRATEGY + " may not be null: sensible values are "
					+ PhysicalNamingStrategyStandardImpl.class.getName() + " for no filtering of the name "
					+ PostgreSQLPhysicalNamingStrategyImpl.class.getName() + " to truncate the name to conform with PostgreSQL identifier max length");
		}

		Boolean isNewGeneratorMappingsEnabled = configuration.isNewGeneratorMappingsEnabled();
		if (isNewGeneratorMappingsEnabled != null) {
			properties.setProperty(AvailableSettings.USE_NEW_ID_GENERATOR_MAPPINGS, isNewGeneratorMappingsEnabled.toString());
		}

		// Override properties
		properties.putAll(configuration.getDefaultExtraProperties());
		properties.putAll(configuration.getExtraProperties());

		return properties;
	}

	public static Advisor defaultTransactionAdvisor(PlatformTransactionManager transactionManager) {
		return defaultTransactionAdvisor(transactionManager, Lists.<Class<? extends Exception>>newArrayList());
	}

	public static Advisor defaultTransactionAdvisor(PlatformTransactionManager transactionManager,
			List<Class<? extends Exception>> additionalRollbackRuleExceptions) {
		AspectJExpressionPointcutAdvisor advisor = new AspectJExpressionPointcutAdvisor();

		advisor.setExpression("this(" + ITransactionalAspectAwareService.class.getName() + ")");
		advisor.setAdvice(defaultTransactionInterceptor(transactionManager, additionalRollbackRuleExceptions));

		return advisor;

	}

	/**
	 * Construit un transactionInterceptor avec une configuration par défaut.
	 */
	public static TransactionInterceptor defaultTransactionInterceptor(PlatformTransactionManager transactionManager,
			List<Class<? extends Exception>> additionalRollbackRuleExceptions) {
		TransactionInterceptor transactionInterceptor = new TransactionInterceptor();
		Properties transactionAttributes = new Properties();

		List<RollbackRuleAttribute> rollbackRules = Lists.newArrayList();
		rollbackRules.add(new RollbackRuleAttribute(ServiceException.class));
		// TODO voir si on ajoute SecurityServiceException.class en fonction de ce que ça donne sur le Wombat
		// ou voir si on ne la dégage pas carrément en fait...

		for (Class<? extends Exception> clazz : additionalRollbackRuleExceptions) {
			rollbackRules.add(new RollbackRuleAttribute(clazz));
		}

		DefaultTransactionAttribute readOnlyTransactionAttributes =
				new DefaultTransactionAttribute(TransactionDefinition.PROPAGATION_REQUIRED);
		readOnlyTransactionAttributes.setReadOnly(true);

		RuleBasedTransactionAttribute writeTransactionAttributes =
				new RuleBasedTransactionAttribute(TransactionDefinition.PROPAGATION_REQUIRED, rollbackRules);

		String readOnlyTransactionAttributesDefinition = readOnlyTransactionAttributes.toString();
		String writeTransactionAttributesDefinition = writeTransactionAttributes.toString();
		// read-only
		transactionAttributes.setProperty("is*", readOnlyTransactionAttributesDefinition);
		transactionAttributes.setProperty("has*", readOnlyTransactionAttributesDefinition);
		transactionAttributes.setProperty("get*", readOnlyTransactionAttributesDefinition);
		transactionAttributes.setProperty("list*", readOnlyTransactionAttributesDefinition);
		transactionAttributes.setProperty("search*", readOnlyTransactionAttributesDefinition);
		transactionAttributes.setProperty("find*", readOnlyTransactionAttributesDefinition);
		transactionAttributes.setProperty("count*", readOnlyTransactionAttributesDefinition);
		// write et rollback-rule
		transactionAttributes.setProperty("*", writeTransactionAttributesDefinition);

		transactionInterceptor.setTransactionAttributes(transactionAttributes);
		transactionInterceptor.setTransactionManager(transactionManager);
		return transactionInterceptor;
	}

	public static DataSource dataSource(IDatabaseConnectionPoolConfigurationProvider configurationProvider) {
		HikariDataSource dataSource = new HikariDataSource();

		dataSource.setDriverClassName(configurationProvider.getDriverClass().getName());
		dataSource.setJdbcUrl(configurationProvider.getUrl());
		dataSource.setUsername(configurationProvider.getUser());
		dataSource.setPassword(configurationProvider.getPassword());
		dataSource.addDataSourceProperty("user", configurationProvider.getUser());
		dataSource.addDataSourceProperty("password", configurationProvider.getPassword());
		dataSource.setMinimumIdle(configurationProvider.getMinIdle());
		dataSource.setMaximumPoolSize(configurationProvider.getMaxPoolSize());
		dataSource.setConnectionTestQuery(configurationProvider.getValidationQuery());
		dataSource.setConnectionInitSql(emptyToNull(configurationProvider.getInitSql()));

		return dataSource;
	}

	private static String[] getPackagesToScan(List<JpaPackageScanProvider> jpaPackageScanProviders) {
		Set<String> packagesToScan = new HashSet<String>();
		for (JpaPackageScanProvider jpaPackageScanProvider : jpaPackageScanProviders) {
			for (Package packageToScan : jpaPackageScanProvider.getPackages()) {
				packagesToScan.add(packageToScan.getName());
			}
		}
		return packagesToScan.toArray(new String[packagesToScan.size()]);
	}

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Chess calendar: March 2020
by ChessBase
3/1/2020 – There will be plenty of action to keep chess enthusiasts entertained in March. The month will kick off with the third leg of the Women's Grand Prix in Lausanne, and four days after that event comes to an end the long-awaited Candidates Tournament will begin in Yekaterinburg. Team tournaments (Nutcracker and Senior Teams), strong opens (HD Bank and Dubai) and a couple of invitational events in Saint Louis will serve as first-rate complements. | You'll find all of these events and more covered in our live games broadcast area Live.ChessBase.com and we'll also be providing News coverage.
new: ChessBase 16 - Mega package Edition 2021
Your key to fresh ideas, precise analyses and targeted training! Everyone uses ChessBase, from the World Champion to the amateur next door. It is the program of choice for anyone who loves the game and wants to know more about it. Start your personal success story with ChessBase and enjoy the game even more.
Candidates at the forefront
These are the major events on the chess calendar for March 2020, with links to their official sites. When live games are available, we'll also add these along with any links to our News page coverage of each tournament.
All monthly calendars: 2019 | 2020
All monthly rating reports
March 2nd - 13th: Women's Grand Prix 3rd leg (Lausanne, Switzerland)
The third leg of the 2019/2020 FIDE Women's Grand Prix will take place at the Hôtel Mövenpick in the 'Olympic Capital'. It will be the third of four twelve-player single round-robin events which will give out two tickets to play in the 2021 Women's Candidates Tournament.
After two legs, Humpy Koneru is leading the overall standings of the series. The Indian star will skip the third leg though, giving second-placed Aleksandra Goryachkina a chance to take over the lead.
Zhao Xue from China was supposed to be among the participants in Switzerland, but due to complications related to the Coronavirus outbreak she will be replaced by Zhansaya Abdumalik from Kazakhstan.
Rank Player
1 Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS)
2 Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS)
3 Ju Wenjun (CHN)
4 Dronavalli Harika (IND)
5 Anna Muzychuk (UKR)
6 Pia Cramling (SWE)
7 Mariya Muzychuk (UKR)
8 Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS)
9 Nana Dzagnidze (GEO)
10 Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL)
11 Marie Sebag (FRA)
12 Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ)
Live.ChessBase.com
March 4th - 9th: 6th Nutcracker Match of the Generations (Moscow, Russia)
The "Nutcracker Tournament" returns to Moscow's Central Chess Club, repeating the Kings v Princes format it presented back in 2018. A squad of young talented players from Russia (Princes) face a team composed by older stars from around the globe (Kings) in a Scheveningen match.
From the 4th to the 7th of March, the teams will face each other in classical games, while the last two days of action will feature eight rapid encounters.
Kings: Evgeny Tomashevsky (Russia), Boris Gelfand (Israel), Alexei Shirov (Latvia), Evgeniy Najer (Russia).
Princes: Alexey Sarana, Andrey Esipenko, Daniil Yuffa, Semyon Lomasov (all from Russia).
March 6th - 14th: World Senior Team Championships (Prague, Czech Republic)
The World Senior Team Championships for players over 50 and 65 will take place at the Olympik Hotel in Prague. Both tournaments are nine-round Swiss opens, with each team composed of four members and an optional reserve player.
The time control will be 90 minutes for 40 moves plus 30 minutes for the rest of the game with 30-second increments from move one.
Currently, the top seeded team in the 50+ category is the United States: Alexander Shabalov, Gregory Kaidanov, Larry Christiansen, Joel Benjamin and Igor Novikov.
The highest-rated squad in the 65+ section is Russia: Yuri Balashov, Evgeny Sveshnikov, Nukhim Rashkovsky, Evgenij Kalegin and Vladimir Shelnin.
Live.ChessBase.com:
March 6th - 12th: 10th HD Bank International Tournament (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)
The HD Bank Open will celebrate its tenth edition at the Rex Hotel Saigon in Vietnam's most populous city and most popular tourist destination, Ho Chi Minh City.
It is a nine-round Swiss open with a time control of 90 minutes for the entire game with an increment of 30 seconds for each move. The Masters category is reserved for players with a rating over 2200 Elo points.
The prize fund for the Masters and Challengers categories amounts to US$70,000, with the top finishers in the Masters taking home $18,000, $9,000 and $6,000 respectively.
Last year's edition was won by Wang Hao.
Update: Postponed, for now, according to the official Facebook page:
March 17th - April 3rd: FIDE Candidates Tournament (Yekaterinburg, Russia)
The eight-player double round robin will determine who will become Magnus Carlsen's challenger in the next World Championship match. Starting Monday March 17th, three rounds will be played in consecutive days and will be followed by a rest day. The time control will be 100 minutes for the first 40 moves, 50 minutes for the next 20 moves and then 15 minutes for the rest of the game; plus a 30-second increment per move starting from move one.
In order to prevent players from the same country from colliding against their opponents, they will face each other in the earlier rounds. This will apply to the three Russian contestants and the two Chinese representatives.
After a ban to Chinese citizens travelling for "private, educational, working and tourist purposes" was issued on February 20th, the International Chess Federation announced Ding Liren and Wang Hao were given humanitarian visas, which will allow them to participate.
All the pairings were announced in mid-February.
Player Federation Rating Qualification means
1 Fabiano Caruana USA 2822 Lost the previous WCh match
2 Ding Liren China 2801 World Cup (runner-up)
3 Alexander Grischuk Russia 2777 Grand Prix (winner)
4 Anish Giri Netherlands 2769 Best rating average of 2019
5 Ian Nepomniachtchi Russia 2767 Grand Prix (runner-up)
6 Teimour Radjabov Azerbaijan 2765 World Cup (winner)
7 Wang Hao China 2756 Grand Swiss (winner)
8 Kirill Alekseenko Russia 2704 Wildcard (*)
March 18th - 26th: Spring Chess Classic (Saint Louis, United States)
The 2020 Spring Chess Classic is the first of four yearly tournaments featuring international chess professionals. It is comprised of two ten-player round robin tournaments. Over the course of ten days, these competitors will battle for $36,000 in prize money and gain valuable experience in top-level events.
The Classic chess series are the strong tournaments held quarterly at the Saint Louis Chess Club. These tournaments were created to give international masters and grandmasters a chance to participate in strong round robin tournaments in order to test their skill against similar level players.
The 2019 edition was won by Jeffery Xiong (group A) and Bai Jinshi (group B).
Group A participants:
Rank Name Fed. Rating
1 GM Xiong, Jeffery USA 2709
2 GM Robson, Ray USA 2673
3 GM Sevian, Samuel USA 2660
4 GM Donchenko, Alexander GER 2650
5 GM Bruzon Batista, Lazaro CUB 2644
6 GM Fridman, Daniel GER 2625
7 GM Gledura, Benjamin HUN 2620
8 GM Akobian, Varuzhan USA 2614
9 GM Hansen, Eric CAN 2606
10 GM Lupulescu, Constantin ROU 2653
Group B participants:
1 GM Rambaldi, Francesco ITA 2571
2 GM Mista, Aleksander POL 2569
3 GM Meshkovs, Nikita LAT 2566
4 GM Gordievsky, Dmitry RUS 2559
5 IM Theodorou, Nikolas GRE 2554
6 GM Burke, John M USA 2538
7 IM Bjerre, Jonas Buhl DEN 2530
8 GM Repka, Christopher SVK 2488
9 IM Yoo, Christopher Woojin USA 2430
10 GM Prohaszka, Peter HUN 2592
March 29th - April 7th: 22nd Dubai Open (Dubai, United Arab Emirates)
The Dubai Open is an international chess tournament that is organized and hosted annually by the Dubai Chess & Culture Club since 1999. Over the years, it has become one of the strongest open tournaments in the world and is known for attracting top-class chess players and grandmasters.
The tournament is a nine-round Swiss open with a time control of 90 minutes for the whole game and 30-second increments from move one.
The total prize fund amounts to USD$50,000, with $13,000 reserved for the winner. The 2019 edition saw eight players (all from different countries) tying atop the standings on 7 out of 9 points. Russian Maxim Matlakov was declared the champion on tiebreak criteria.
Update: The event has been cancelled.
DUBAI OPEN 2020 IS CANCELLED
After HD Bank in Vietnam, another major chess event has been cancelled due to the Coronavirus.
Mohamed Elhusseiny, the executive manager of Dubai Chess Club, announces that the 22nd Dubai Open has been cancelled. pic.twitter.com/SuXaFSZwIC
— ChessBase India (@ChessbaseIndia) March 2, 2020
ChessBase Reports about chess: tournaments, championships, portraits, interviews, World Championships, product launches and more.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
class RenderViewContextMenuProxy;

namespace content {
class BrowserContext;
}

namespace arc {

// An observer class which populates the menu item that shows an action
// obtained from a text selection.
class StartSmartSelectionActionMenu : public RenderViewContextMenuObserver {
 public:
  explicit StartSmartSelectionActionMenu(
      content::BrowserContext* context,
      RenderViewContextMenuProxy* proxy,
      std::unique_ptr<ArcIntentHelperMojoDelegate> delegate);
  StartSmartSelectionActionMenu(const StartSmartSelectionActionMenu&) = delete;
  StartSmartSelectionActionMenu& operator=(
      const StartSmartSelectionActionMenu&) = delete;
  ~StartSmartSelectionActionMenu() override;

  // RenderViewContextMenuObserver overrides:
  void InitMenu(const content::ContextMenuParams& params) override;
  bool IsCommandIdSupported(int command_id) override;
  bool IsCommandIdChecked(int command_id) override;
  bool IsCommandIdEnabled(int command_id) override;
  void ExecuteCommand(int command_id) override;

 private:
  void HandleTextSelectionActions(
      std::vector<ArcIntentHelperMojoDelegate::TextSelectionAction> actions);

  raw_ptr<content::BrowserContext> context_;
  const raw_ptr<RenderViewContextMenuProxy>
      proxy_;  // Owned by RenderViewContextMenu.

  // The text selection actions passed from ARC.
  std::vector<ArcIntentHelperMojoDelegate::TextSelectionAction> actions_;

  // The delegate instance to handle TextSelectionActions.
  std::unique_ptr<ArcIntentHelperMojoDelegate> delegate_;

  base::WeakPtrFactory<StartSmartSelectionActionMenu> weak_ptr_factory_{this};
};

}  // namespace arc

#endif  // CHROME_BROWSER_CHROMEOS_ARC_START_SMART_SELECTION_ACTION_MENU_H_


text:
IPT Italy
NFT: just another bubble or the next big revolution?
By Lara Mastrangelo / 19 October 2021 19 October 2021 / Blockchain, Fashion, General, Intellectual Property, IP
By Lara Mastrangelo and Valentina Mazza
NFTs' legal implications for the art, music and fashion industries
Do you remember Magritte's famous painting displaying a pipe with the wording "Ceci n'est pas une pipe", or Duchamp's irreverent readymades? Well, keep them in mind, as it is from that moment on that artists started questioning the relationship between art and the objects that embody it. And yet, the detachment between the work of art and the object that incorporates it has now reached another (revolutionary) level: artworks which do not exist in reality, or rather, artworks which exist only in a digital form: the so called "Non Fungible Token" (NFT).
You have probably already heard about NFTs, as they received a lot of attention over the last months, impacting not only the art market but a number of different industries. But what are they exactly?
In simple words, NFTs are units of data linked to the blockchain, which can transform analog or digital works into unique, verifiable assets that are easy to trade on the blockchain. Unlike a bitcoin, which is fungible just like paper currency (i.e. you can trade one bitcoin for another and you will have exactly the same thing), NFTs are not interchangeable. Instead, they are inextricably associated to only one specific and unique object, in a way which allows to track them on the blockchains to provide the owner with a proof of ownership.
Essentially, any item – including digital ones, like an image, a video, a song, even the part of a code – can be purchased as an NFT, with complex and not entirely foreseeable consequences for the industries involved in the revolution, which we will briefly analyse as follows.
1. The art industry
Digital artworks sold through NFTs have recently become the most hyped trend in the art market, which reached one of its peaks last March, with the auction of Beeple's "Everydays: the first 5000 days" by Christie's. Indeed, the purely digital artwork, a collage consisting of 5,000 single images, was sold for $69.3 million.
Although NFTs have the potential to be a disruptive technology, it is not clear yet whether they will revolutionize the art world or be just a temporary fad. In any case, when approaching this technology, both investors and artists should not forget some legal considerations.
First of all, one has to bear in mind that NFTs provide reliable information only with respect to what is on the blockchain, but do not "certify" that the underlying asset is an original, nor that the issuer of the token holds the relevant IP rights.
Indeed, this issue already arose in a very recent case, where the sale of Jean-Michel Basquiat's 'Free Comb with Pagoda' drawing, along with an associated NFT through the online platform OpenSea, was first announced and later cancelled, due to the opposition of the artist's Estate. The sale announcement not only guaranteed the authenticity of the physical work (and thus of the token), but also stated that whoever bought the NFT would also have the right to destroy the physical work associated therewith. Yet, the artist's foundation announced that the owner of the physical work, who had also created the NFT, was not entitled to the exploitation rights and therefore had no right to tokenize and auction the work. Indeed, the exploitation rights of works of art are not transferred to the buyer automatically upon purchase.
Under Italian law, for example, art. 109 of the Italian Copyright law ("ICL") clearly states that the exploitation rights, which include the reproduction of the work, i.e. the multiplication of all or part of the work into copies, belong exclusively to the author and are not transferred with the sale of the work, unless otherwise agreed in writing.
This rule applies also to NFT, with the effect that (i) the only subjects authorized to tokenize a certain physical work are the holders of the relevant exploitation rights, i.e. the artist, his estate, or the owner of the work (as long as the relevant rights have been expressly assigned to him/her); and (ii) when buying an NFT it is important to be aware that the ownership of such a token does not translate into ownership of the exploitation rights of the original underlying work.
Another feature of NFT technology is that it allows to set forth conditions for the resale of artworks on the secondary market. Indeed, NFTs can be sold by means of smart contracts, where artists can install predetermined resale royalty that is automatically applied to any subsequent sale on the secondary market. In this way, even American artists – who are normally not entitled to the so called droit de suit, as it is not regulated by US copyright law – can enjoy it. In Europe, this is nothing new, given that the droit de suite was introduced by Directive 2001/84/EC, whereby artists are normally entailed to receive a percentage of the resale price obtained on the secondary market through professionals, like auction houses, galleries, etc.. Yet, although smart contracts are transnational, many of them are platform-specific, meaning that resale rights are counted only if the resale occurs on the same platform where the original NFT was sold.
2. The music industry
The phenomenon has started to go big also in the music industry, where artists see NFTs as a chance to directly connect with fans and take control of their music. Indeed, artists have already embraced this trend by creating NFTs associated with digital art, physical goods and live experiences. For example, Kings of Leon's latest album has been released also as a collection of NFTs and Mike Shinoda, the co-founder of the band Linkin Park, dropped an NFT associated with a clip of an unreleased song accompanied by an animation.
At a closer look, collecting societies had already captured the potential of blockchain in the arts and music. Indeed, SIAE (Italy's largest copyright collecting agency), few years ago entered into a partnership with Algorand, a leading blockchain platform. Said partnership recently brough to the creation of more than 4 million NFTs, representing the rights of the more than 95,000 authors members of SIAE.
Although in theory NFTs have the potential to significantly impact the role of collecting societies and of labels, by giving artists the chance to directly control the exploitation of their music works, artists' ability to successfully mint and sell NFTs is not child's play. First of all, it is key to carefully evaluate which rights the artists is actually entitled to, given that normally the rights of economic exploitation of a music work are assigned to labels. In this respect, it is interesting to note that virtually all label agreements refer to the exploitation of the relevant recordings also on all future-developed technologies and platforms, meaning all the technologies not yet developed at the time the artist entered into the agreement. If the wording of the agreement is that broad (as usually is), it will easily include also the creation of NFTs associated with a recording.
In this respect, it is interesting to note that after a long debate on the applicability of art. 119, para. 3 ICL – which limits the chance to transfer "future rights which may be granted by subsequent laws and which provide copyright protection of wider scope or longer duration" – to music publishing contracts, the Italian Supreme Court has answered in the negative. More precisely, the Court concluded that whilst book publishing agreements are governed by specific provisions (among which art. 119 ICL), agreements regarding cinematographic or musical works are to be considered as atypical contracts, not regulated by the provisions set forth for the "traditional" publishing contract (Italian Supreme Court n. 12086/2013 and 26626/2008). Consequently, the transfer of rights of exploitation of music works and sound recordings thorough future technologies might be validly included in music publishing and music recording agreements.
A second issue worth mentioning is that the creation and sale of an NFTs shall take into consideration all the rights on the works, which are usually more than one, considering that musical works generally involve joint authors, like authors of the musical composition and of the lyrics. For example, an artist who wishes to create and sell an NFT having as object a new music video clip will need to check whether he/she has obtained all the licenses to do so, such as those from the musicians and songwriters.
This analysis should carefully take into consideration the agreement entered into with the co-authors and with the relevant label, if any. However, if no agreement has been reached by the co-authors, the exploitation of the economic rights is still not free, but it shall follow the rules set forth by articles 33 ff. ICL, regulating musical works.
Established artists may also face a third key issue: as said, NFTs can be associated with an indefinite number of digital objects, such as merchandise goods bearing the artist's name or image, backstage experiences or exclusive events, just to mention some. Thus, it will be increasingly relevant to carefully address all these issues in the agreements between artists and labels.
3. The fashion industry
After the Simpsons' runway debut during Paris Fashion Week for Balenciaga's fashion show and the already successful relationship between fashion brands and the gaming community, NFTs open up the fashion world to new digital channels. In fact, the possibility for users to not only buy digital items in the fashion space but to also have unique pieces adds a level of exclusivity that has always be key within the fashion culture.
It is thus no surprise that Italian luxury brand Dolce & Gabbana sold at auction a nine-piece collection of digital NFTs, alongside some actual couture for a total of 1,885.719 Ether (Ethereum cryptocurrency), or the equivalent of nearly $5.7 million. Earlier this year, also Gucci created an NFT called "Aria," a three-channel video loop, inspired by its fall 2021 collection, which was auctioned by Christie's for $20,000 and last August Burberry dropped a limited-edition NFT collection for Mythical Games' online game Blankos Block Party, which realized a total of about $375,000.
In this scenario, NFTs might be a powerful tool against piracy by helping brand owners in their anti-counterfeiting activities. In fact, besides the traceability of the garment over its life-cycle provided by the blockchain technology per se, NFTs takes the fight against counterfeits a step further by offering the possibility to embed an NFT in physical products to be scanned in order to confirm they are authentic.
On this ground, a leading sport brand in the U.S. has already patented a system for minting, exchanging, and intermingling cryptographic digital assets in the form of digital shoes, which can each be linked to a real-world physical shoe. Upon purchase of a sneaker associated with this technology, the purchaser also receives an NFT tied to it that he can transfer with the shoe, thereby verifying the authenticity of the product. In addition, customers who own said product can create custom shoe designs by digitally combining the owner's digital shoe design with another person's digital shoe in order to create a new design that is a hybrid of the two.
When they do not come from the fashion brand itself, however NFTs cannot fully guarantee the authenticity of a product because, although they can authenticate the fashion item and its ownership, if an original ledger entry is false or in error from the start, the NFTs will confirm and perpetuate that falsehood.
As a possible solution to overcome this risk, platforms selling NFTs might consider to verify creators, in the same way that Twitter or Instagram verify their users.
Another problem that fashion brands might face with third-party created NFTs displaying their trademark is given by the actual scope of their trademark rights. The issue arose for example in relation to the "Baby Birkin" NFT, which was an animation of a baby growing in an Hermès Birkin bag, recently sold in a Basic.Space auction for the equivalent of $23,500, without Hermès having any affiliation with nor being awarded any royalty for the sale of such NFT. In fact, Hermès registered the "Birkin" trademark for leather goods and leather handbags but not for digital artworks, so the creator of the NFT could argue that the NFT is not covered by Hermès' trademark rights. In this scenario, famous brands like Hermès might probably rely on the stronger protection granted to trademarks that enjoy reputation, whereas emerging designers and smaller fashion houses might face serious difficulties in enforcing their rights.
Interestingly in this case Hermès decided not to take action. In fact, given the popularity of NFTs among generations Z and Alpha, some brand might look at the phenomenon as an opportunity to create relevance and buzz within new potential customers. Should thus NFTs be considered as underground marketing or counterfeits? Only time will tell!
If you would like to know more about this topic, copyright and art law in general, please contact valentina.mazza@dlapiper.com and lara.mastrangelo@dlapiper.com
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text:
Subscribe to Parenting
Community & Family Parenting Parenting & Education By Yaakov Lieder
Shmuli Needs His Privacy
By Yaakov Lieder
I had become quite a regular at the Maternity Ward of the Royal Women's Hospital in Sydney. After all, ten of my fourteen children were born there. One of the midwives even suggested that the hospital ought to put my wife on a "Frequent Flyer" program.
It was therefore very natural for me to receive reports from the pediatricians who checked the newborn baby. On all the fourteen occasions on which I became a father, I had wanted to make sure that the baby was responding normally, and I was anxious to establish whether the baby had my wife's looks or, G‑d forbid, mine.
When my daughters married and started having their own children, they wanted their parents to be by their sides during labor. After all, they couldn't get much more experienced coaches, especially at the price we were charging them!
In June 2006, my grandson, Shmuli, was born at the Royal Women's Hospital in Sydney. He didn't arrive easily and quickly. After eighteen hours of hard labor without any results, the cardiac monitor showed that the baby was under stress. The doctor decided to do a caesarean.
Just as all the doctors were about to start – surprise! surprise! – Shmuli came flying outBut Shmuli was as cheeky then as he is today as a five-year-old. It took thirty minutes to prepare for the operation. Then, just as all the doctors and the nursing staff were about to start – surprise! surprise! – Shmuli just came flying out.
My wife and I were waiting outside the operation room, expecting no news for thirty minutes, so you can imagine our surprise when, four minutes after we had kissed our daughter goodbye, my son-in-law appeared from inside. With a big smile, he announced, "It's a boy, and the delivery was natural."
As we were talking in the hallway, the operating room door flew open, and the pediatrician ran out carrying the four-minute-old newborn baby to the Intensive Care Nursery. My son-in-law rushed after her.
Luckily for me, the nursery had a window through which I watched them putting the baby in an incubator.
I was frantic. I desperately wanted to find out what was going on. All I could see through the glass was my bewildered son-in-law in conversation with the doctor. But I could hear nothing.
My parenting instincts got the better of me, and I burst into the nursery and rushed towards the doctor and my son-in-law. I was determined to hear the doctor's report of my 15-minute-old grandson.
The doctor, who was speaking to my son-in-law, stopped short. She turned to me and asked, "And who are you?"
"I am the proud grandfather," I answered, "and I am here to listen to your report about my now sixteen-minute-old grandson."
"Sorry," she said, "I have a duty of care to protect the privacy of this newborn baby. I can only disclose medical information to the parents. I cannot disclose any medical reports to you. You're not the father. Can you please leave the nursery so I can continue my report to the baby's father?"
"My 16-minute-old grandson needs his privacy? What is the world coming to?"I was in total shock and disbelief. "My 16-minute-old grandson needs his privacy? Isn't that over the top? What is the world coming to?"
Though I was upset to have been ordered to leave the nursery and to have been prohibited from listening to the medical report, I decided not to shoot the messenger but rather to put all my energy towards understanding the message. I was determined to allow it to sink in so that I could find its particular, special meaning. I asked myself, "Why did I need to hear this message? What's the lesson G‑d wants me to take away from it?"
In the following days and weeks, the lesson finally became obvious. The penny finally dropped, big time. If 16-minute-old Shmuli deserves his absolute privacy, how about the 16-month-old Shmulis of the world; how about the five and 25-year-olds, our friends, our children, our neighbors. Are we protecting their privacy at all times?
In our family, it has become a household saying. When anybody is about to step out of line and is about to disclose some information about a "Shmuli" of any age, size or form, the listener says, "Shmuli needs his privacy." That serves as a wake-up call and a reminder that if the 16-minute-old Shmuli deserves his privacy, how much more does someone older deserve his or hers.
It's important always to ask ourselves the question before we start speaking: Is Shmuli's privacy going to be violated by what I am about to say? After my many years of dealings in family counseling, I can say with certainty that often, the conflict that was presented to me started and escalated due to the fact that such a cautionary pause was not taken, and that question was not asked before the people involved started speaking. Doing so could improve many relationships: between husbands and wives, parents and children; between friends, and between neighbors.
The pediatrician who kicked me out of the nursery sensed that I wasn't too happy with her move, but that is not important. Little did she know that her one sentence – "The baby needs his privacy" – has created history big time in my life, in the lives of my family members, and in the lives of those around the world who read my books and listen to my lectures.
Rabbi Yaakov Lieder has served as a teacher and principal, and in a variety of other educational positions, for more than 30 years in Israel, the U.S., and Sydney, Australia. He is the founder and director of the Support Centre to aid families struggling with relationship and child-rearing issues. Click here for more articles by Rabbi Lieder.
More from Yaakov Lieder | RSS
12 Ways to Build your Child's Self-Esteem
From Nothing To Everything
I'm Here Because I Care
Ownership & Responsibility
How to Make Time for Your Family
May I Peek Through Someone's Window?
Can My Neighbor Prevent Me From Building My Dream...
Discovering Talmudic Principles
Am I Permitted to Reveal Private...
The controversy surrounding former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates's new memoir
Alan S. Huntingon, NY via chabadlittleneck.com January 11, 2011
Unless the laws are different in your country, in the US, that pediatrician was wrong. A grandparent may be allowed into consultations with a doctor unless a parent objects. I doubt your son would object. He could have spoken up and asked that you be permitted to stay. Certainly everyone is entitled to privacy, including minors, but you are not a stranger to the child. Again, unless the pediatrician was told not to speak to anyone but the parent, a grandparent staying in a consultation room with the express permission of the parents is perfectly permissible. Reply
Chaya M Spring Valley, NY January 11, 2011
So True It is just so true. I must admit that I'm guilty of not giving privacy. This is such an important message. Thank you for posting Reply
Noii Chicago, IL January 11, 2011
Schmuli, yes, privacy Dear GrandPapa: Fourteen children...how wonderful. Of course Schmuli needs his privacy, and his mother, too. I come from a large family. My dear, wonderful mother would never allow us to breathe on the newborns in our family until a complete cycle of the new moon. We were taught that birth is very sacred to G_d--and not the ungodly spectacles it has become. The last time I was near a delivery room with one of my niece's during her labor, I almost fainted...I come from a family of eleven--I'm the youngest.When I think about the wonders of our Infinite G_d, and childbirth, I truly believe there must be an easier way to have a baby. Did I read somewhere in the Torah about the mystical stork?We were all delivered at home by our family's midwife--no inhuman nurseries, no thermometers up our newborn bottoms, no ungodly hands or breaths on our holy skin, & no ink on precious feet, and my sisters could not go out in public, or the house until a completed moon...Congrats, Grampa! Reply
R' Binyamin Uchytil Sacramento, CA January 11, 2011
Caveat 'Shmuli' needs his privacy - as long as he is not hurting others.
If Shmuli is endangering others, he has negated his right to privacy and we are responsible for publishing his acts in order to protect possible future victims. Reply
Anonymous UK January 11, 2011
SHMULI NEEDS HIS PRIVACY Thank you for posting, it really hit home to me Reply
Parenting & Education
By Jay Litvin
By Chana Weisberg
By Nochum Kaplan
By Tzvi Freeman
Help! I've got kids...
Birth & Parenting
Voices & Inspiration
Special Children
Privacy; Confidentiality (14)
Parenting; Parenthood (671)
This page in other languages


text:
using System;
using System.Linq;
using System.Transactions;
using System.Web.Mvc;
using Hangfire.Highlighter.Jobs;
using Hangfire.Highlighter.Models;

namespace Hangfire.Highlighter.Controllers
{
    public class HomeController : Controller
    {
        private readonly HighlighterDbContext _db = new HighlighterDbContext();
        private readonly SnippetHighlighter _highlighter = new SnippetHighlighter();

        public ActionResult Index()
        {
            return View(_db.CodeSnippets.OrderByDescending(x => x.Id).ToList());
        }

        public ActionResult Create()
        {
            return View();
        }

        [HttpPost]
        public ActionResult Create([Bind(Include = "SourceCode")] CodeSnippet snippet, string email)
        {
            if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(email))
            {
                // Simplest SPAM prevention trick
                return RedirectToAction("Index");
            }

            if (ModelState.IsValid)
            {
                snippet.CreatedAt = DateTime.UtcNow;
                _highlighter.CreateSnippet(snippet);

                return RedirectToAction("Index");
            }

            return View(snippet);
        }

        protected override void Dispose(bool disposing)
        {
            if (disposing)
            {
                _db.Dispose();
            }
            base.Dispose(disposing);
        }
    }
}


text:
package net.shinonomelabs.oribebot.posting;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.Iterator;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Map;
import java.util.TreeMap;
import net.shinonomelabs.oribebot.storage.Yasuna;
import net.shinonomelabs.oribebot.storage.YasunaImageHandler;

/**
 *
 * @author Elizabeth Bland
 */
public class Scheduler {
    private final YasunaImageHandler yh;
    private final Map<Long,Yasuna> schedule = new TreeMap<>();
    private final List<Yasuna> postedYasunas = new ArrayList<>();

    public Scheduler(YasunaImageHandler yh) {
        this.yh = yh;
        refreshYasunas();
    }

    public void printSchedule() {
        Iterator<Map.Entry<Long,Yasuna>> it = schedule.entrySet().iterator();
        System.out.println("Time\t\tDescription");
        while(it.hasNext()) {
            Map.Entry<Long,Yasuna> pair = it.next();
            System.out.println(pair.getKey() + "\t" + pair.getValue().description);
        }
    }

    public boolean refreshYasunas() {
        System.out.println("Loading some Yasunas...");
        List<Yasuna> yasunas = yh.getPostableYasunas();
        Collections.shuffle(yasunas);
        long current = System.currentTimeMillis();
        long wait = (3600*6*1000) - ((current + 3600*3*1000) % (3600*6*1000));
        long next = wait + current;

        for(long i = next; !yasunas.isEmpty(); i += 60*60*6*1000) {
            schedule.put(i,yasunas.get(0));
            yasunas.remove(0);
        }
        return !schedule.isEmpty();
    }

    public void checkYasunas() {
        System.out.println("Checking Yasunas...");
        if(schedule.isEmpty()) refreshYasunas();
    }
    public List<Yasuna> getDueYasunas(long time) {
        ArrayList<Yasuna> ret = new ArrayList<>();
        ArrayList<Long> keys = new ArrayList<>();
        Iterator<Map.Entry<Long,Yasuna>> it = schedule.entrySet().iterator();
        while(it.hasNext()) {
            Map.Entry<Long,Yasuna> pair = it.next();
            if(pair.getKey() > time) continue;
            Yasuna yasuna = pair.getValue();
            if(!postedYasunas.contains(yasuna)) { ret.add(yasuna); keys.add(pair.getKey()); }

        }
        postedYasunas.addAll(ret);
        for(Long l : keys) schedule.remove(l);
        if(!ret.isEmpty()) checkYasunas();
        return ret;
    }

}


Big thanks to Alliance Française de Delhi, Gurgaon for collaborating with us on this oriental dub experience! **FULL DETAILS** Date: Thursday, October 15 Time: 9pm onwards Venue: Hauz Khas Social Artist: Fedayi Pacha #freeentry **About Fedayi Pacha** Fedayi Pacha has been fusing dub and oriental sounds since 2003, when he joined Bangarang, the dub collective from St. Etienne, France. He mixes in studio samples, guest musicians, electronics and a duduk, an American Oboe, to draw with sound effects a landscape that stretches from the Balkans to India.


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Thailand festivals
Thailand festivals Dragon Boat Festival in Thailand 2017
by Richard April 6, 2017 May 21, 2017 No Comments
Author: Josh:Asiabackpackers.com
Thailand festivals Dragon Boat Festival. When the Chinese communities in Thailand use food, perfumes and rice wine, to welcome Dragons
Thailand festivals Dragon Boat Festival
When: May 5th (Chinese Lunar Calendar – in Thailand 30th May 2017) (2018 – June 18th)
Where: Across the Kingdom where there are larger Chinese communities.
Dragon Boat Festival in Thailand. While this day is in truth a Chinese Festival and Bank Holiday, it is also celebrated in Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, North Korea, Indonesia and Thailand, where it is known วันไหว้ขนมจ้าง (Wan Wai Khanom Chang or Wai Chew Festival or Duanwu Festival). In China it is counted as one of their 3 main annual festivals, the others being The Chinese New Year and the Moon Festival (Sept or Oct).
Throughout the rest of the world it is known simply as "Dragon Boat Festival." Not to be confused with the International Swan Boat Races Bangkok, that takes place in Bangkok, annually on the 2nd or 3rd weekend in December, or the traditional Long Boat Races across Thailand, that are held every year around September to October.
Thailand festivals Dragon Boat Festival. Swan Boat Races in Thailand
Origins of the Dragon Boat Festival
There are a number of legends purporting to explain origins of the festival, the most popular modern story, surrounds the poet and minister Qu Yuan (c. 340–278 BC). Qu was banished from his home in the ancient state of Chu, during his 28 year exile, he wrote a plethora of much read poetry, only to take his own life by drowning himself in the Miluo River. When his beloved former homeland was captured by the very army he had spoken about and which led to his exile.
It is said that the local people, who admired him, raced out in their boats to save him or at least retrieve his body. When his body could not be found, they dropped balls of sticky rice into the river so that the fish would eat them instead of Qu Yuan's body. This is said to be the origin of zongzi – sticky rice dumplings.
Dragon Worshipping
Common depiction of a Chinese Dragon
Another theory is that the event originated from dragon worship. The food is thought to have originally represented an offering to the dragon king, while dragon boat racing naturally reflects reverence for the dragon and the active yang energy associated with it.
What-ever its true beginnings this festival is becoming more and more popular in Thailand.
Traditions surrounding the event
Thailand festivals Dragon Boat Festival. Traditions of the Dragon Boat Festival
There are many traditions regarding the Dragon Boat Festival, during the event, (which in China goes on for up to 3 days), people usually hang sprigs of aromatic plants, placed on the entrance to their homes. They include mugwort and calamus, both of which are readily available in Thailand and used in traditional Chinese medicine and perfumes.
You may also see others wearing perfumed medicine bags, or even "five color thread" around their necks, wrists or ankles. What does seem to happen almost everywhere, this is a time to indulge in Rice Wine (known as Sato in Thailand), apparently ……… only drunk as a way to prevent disease and misfortune.
Rice Dumplings
The event is also known for the traditional Chinese rice dumplings called Zongzi, or simply zong in Chinese, while in Thailand and Laos they are known as Bachang or Khanom Chang. Made of sticky rice, to which is added an abundance of different fillings, that can be either sweat or savory. The rice and ingredients are combined and wrapped in bamboo, reed, or other large flat leaves, with each leaf imparting its own unique aroma and flavor to the rice.
Once prepared, they are then cooked steamed or boiled, in the Western world, they are also known as rice dumplings, or sticky rice dumplings.
Although it may have originally been a seasonal food, these dumplings are available year-round in most Thai major cities, with a significant Chinese population. Making zongzi is traditionally a family event in which everyone helps out.
Dragon Boats
Dragon boat racing is now the most prominent and popular activity during the festival. The Traditional boats are, long, slim, open boats, made of teak wood that have been used in China for spiritual and competitive purposes for thousands of years. With the front shaped like an open-mouthed dragon and the other end with the tail.
The traditional craft would comprise typically of 50 paddlers, using single bladed paddles and pure muscle power, to drive the boat. There are also two other crew members, the drummer or caller at the bow facing toward the paddlers, and 1 sweep (steering the boat) standing at the rear of the boat.
Today's Dragon boats however vary in length and the size of crew, from 10 paddlers for smallest boats, to the typical 22 crew members for the standard size boats.
If you are lucky to be in Thailand around this time and you find yourself, in city or town with a large Chinese community, then you are likely to see some if not all of these traditions. Do join in the celebrations as added to this fun and ancient event, is the natural good humour, you will find in all Thai people.
Thailand festivals Elephant Buffet and Jumbo Queen Contest
Thailand Discovery Isan Freedom, Fun Festivals, Fabulous Food


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UMF launches college credit program for high school students
Offered through Maine's Early College Pathways program, the six tracks at UMF are intended to help students focus on classes related to specific topics or career paths.
By Vanessa PaolellaSun Journal
FARMINGTON — Beginning this fall, high school students in Maine will be able to pursue six new precollege tracks at the University of Maine at Farmington.
Offered through Maine's Early College Pathways program, the tracks are intended to help students focus on classes related to specific topics or career paths, according to Kirsten Petroska, director of the UMF Early College Partnerships program.
"The pathways are intended to mimic (a college major) on a much smaller scale," Petroska said, "while also still offering students an opportunity to take courses that will be applicable, even if they don't end up going into that major."
Students can study community health, early childhood education, education and teaching, rehabilitation services, introduction to college and the liberal arts. Community health is further broken into three separate tracks: public health and nutrition; foundational health; and health, sexuality and gender.
Introduction to college and the liberal arts pathways are designed to encourage students to take a variety of introductory college classes, while still providing them with the benefits pathways participants receive.
Each pathway program consists of four or five courses offered at the university. Tuition is free for Maine's public school and home-schooled students, although there could be course-specific fees.
Petroska said high school students at all levels are eligible to apply for the program, but juniors and seniors are typically better prepared to take on the additional academic load.
Many of the courses are available online, according to Petroska. As online offerings expand at UMF, she said the program is likely one day to allow distance students to complete each of the pathways fully online.
"The importance really lies in students sort of being able to start envisioning themselves in certain spaces," Petroska said, "whether it's in a college classroom, when they might not have envisioned that otherwise, or in a particular career field that they they think they're interested in, but they're not sure of."
Online classes make the program more accessible for students who are unable to get to campus or require more-flexible academic scheduling due to other obligations.
Community colleges in Central Maine see spike in enrollment for fall
Previously, students were able to apply to take individual introductory courses at UMF or earn college credit through dual enrollment programs at local high schools. Such programs are expected to continue, according to Petroska, but the Early College Pathways program has certain advantages.
Students who complete a pathway while earning a B or better in all classes would qualify for guaranteed admission to UMF; a fee wavier for a summer program aimed at incoming first-year students; and a university hat, T-shirt or sweatshirt of their choice, among other perks.
Other schools in Maine's public university system, including the University of Maine and the University of Maine at Augusta, also have Early College Pathways programs.
Last year, 231 high school students were enrolled in the UMF Early College program.
Students earn a semester's worth of college credits when they complete a pathway, enabling them to graduate from college early, study abroad, pursue a minor or have more flexibility in their course load, according to Petroska.
"It it's a gift that you give yourself," Petroska said, "when you're able to free up some of that time that you're dedicating to your studies."
Back to school, with panic buttons: The post-Uvalde scramble
Buxton-based school board considers removing books about sexuality and gender identity from school libraries
listen, university of maine at farmington
Maine businesses, schools get smart at artificial intelligence meeting


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Home / Blacksmithing / Arrowhead Latch- April 2023
Arrowhead Latch- April 2023
Arrowhead latches are some of the earliest forms of forged latches in America and they come in many variations. In this class we will forge, punch, and chisel out the parts for a fairly standard arrowhead latch that can then be customized with decorative file work. A good class for the beginner and intermediate smith.
Arrowhead Latch- April 2023 quantity
SKU: a0x4U00000I5k37QAB Category: Blacksmithing
Saturday, April 29, 2023 – 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Sunday, April 30, 2023 – 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Instructor: Derek Heidemann
Open Forge Night- May 2023
Interested in blacksmithing but unsure how to start? Open Forge Night is the place for you! Every third Wednesday of the month during our blacksmithing season, come see demonstrations by expert blacksmith Steve Gurzler. Observing the demonstration is free and open to the public. If you want to try your hand at blacksmithing there is a $20 fee to cover the cost of materials. Safety precautions must be followed – including hard shoes with no open toes, long pants, goggles (supplied) and gloves (supplied).
Wednesday, May 17, 2023 – 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm
Instructor: Steve Gurzler
Member Tuition: $0.00
Non-Member Tuition: $0.00
Special Notes: Pre-registration for Open Forge Night is not required. Participants who wish to try their hand in the forge will be asked to provide a $20 materials fee.
Blacksmithing 101: Nail & Hook- June 2023
Friday, June 9, 2023 – 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Instructor: Russ Jennings
Special Notes: Hard shoes and long pants are required for student's safety.
Forging a Chef's Knife- July 2023
This class is taught by renowned instructor and the very first winner of History Channel's Forged in Fire, Matthew Parkinson. The chef's knife is the most used knife in almost any home. These iconic knives help to create meals for family and loved ones. Well-made kitchen knives can last a lifetime and this class will give you the opportunity to create one of your very own. In this two-day class students will make their own chef's knife from high carbon steel. All aspects of bladesmithing will be covered, from forging the blade to shaping, then heat treating, grinding and polishing, making and fitting a wooden handle and finally, sharpening – with very special attention given to the design and geometry of this kind of knife. This class is intended as an introductory bladesmithing class, but some forging experience is helpful.
Saturday, July 22, 2023 – 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Sunday, July 23, 2023 – 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Instructor: Matthew Parkinson


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First Onsite Property Restoration Joins Denver Metro Chamber as a Sustainer Executive Investor Member
First Onsite Property Restoration, one of North America's largest disaster recovery and restoration providers for commercial enterprises, has joined the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce as a Sustainer Executive Investor Member. The Denver Metro Chamber helps companies start, grow and thrive, as well as provide members with the network, resources and access to experts that help them get ahead. They are the leading voice for Colorado's business community.
"We are really excited to collaborate and participate with the Denver Metro Chamber at the Executive Sustainer Level," stated Marc Cohen, chief strategy officer at First Onsite. "Everyone at First Onsite is eager to get involved from human resources and marketing to finance and IT, we look forward to being active within the strong sense of community that the chamber provides to Colorado businesses," he continued.
As a fast-growing local business and actively recruiting employer, First Onsite's membership with the Denver Metro Chamber marks its connection to a network of like-minded businesses and professionals committed to creating a unified community in support of Colorado's economic development.
Raymond H. Gonzales, president of the Metro Economic Development Corporation and EVP of the broader Denver Chamber of Commerce, shared, "We have enjoyed working with First Onsite here in the Metro Denver region and learning more about the breadth of services they provide in North America. We look forward to welcoming them as investors on the EDC's Executive Committee and working together to advance the regional economy and collaborate on the issues facing our community. Welcome to the Chamber!"
About First Onsite
First Onsite is one of the largest and fastest-growing emergency response planning, mitigation and reconstruction service providers for commercial enterprises in North America. First Onsite employs over 2,300 team members and operates from more than 90 locations across the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. With a culture focused on harnessing the human power of its team members and a commitment to doing what's right, the First Onsite team helps clients restore, rebuild, and rise. First Onsite is a subsidiary of FirstService Corporation.
KEYWORDS: community initiatives First Onsite restoration franchise
First Onsite Property Restoration Acquires A-1 Flood Tech
First Onsite Property Restoration Acquires Emergency Fire & Water Restoration
First Onsite Property Restoration Forges Multi-year Partnership With Masters Champion Mike Weir
National Red Guide - A Step by Step Guide to Disaster Recovery
Optimizing Social Media from a B2B Perspective
Women in Leadership | A Violand Executive Summit Special Event
A Violand Executive Summit special event.
First Onsite
FIRST ONSITE Is The Only Partner You'll Ever Need First Onsite is your trusted, full-service disaster recovery and property restoration company, serving North America and beyond. We partner with you to prepare for the threat of catastrophe and to be the first team on-site after disaster strikes. We are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and you can request our services at any time.


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All in the Family: How Teacher Home Visits Can Lead to School Transformation
This isn't the typical parent-teacher conference: At an NEA Priority School on the outskirts of Detroit, the national Parent Teacher Home Visit Program is helping teachers and parents engage on a whole new level.
— October 28, 2014 • By Mary Ellen Flannery —
Barbréa Finney has something to tell the two teachers who have settled into her living room couch.
Finney, 70, has been fostering children in the Detroit area for 40-plus years and she's probably welcomed more than 50 boys and girls into her home. But the four girls, ages 6 to 11, living with her now are her adoptive daughters. Last year, after decades of drug addiction and domestic violence, their biological mother was stabbed to death by their father.
As Judge Judy rules on the television nearby, Finney dabs at her eyes, and then tells sixth-grade teacher DeAnn Covert, "The girls took it real hard… and sometimes, when they're thinking back, there are days when they get sad. They loved their mother and she was a nice, nice woman."
This is not the typical parent-teacher conference, conducted in a classroom with test scores or discipline reports passed across a table, and another parent waiting nearby for her 10 minutes. Instead this reciprocal conversation, shared in a cozy home with a hand-penciled portrait of Barack Obama on the walls, is part of a coordinated home-visit program. Finney's visitors are from Romulus Middle School, a NEA Priority School on the outskirts of Detroit, and they have trained with the national Parent Teacher Home Visit Program.
"With all of the children I've had, I've never before had a teacher come to my home," said Finney. "When she called me, I was like, 'Okay, this is different. This is nice!'"
It's more than nice, actually. A home-visit program like Romulus' can build meaningful parent-teacher partnerships — the kind of family engagement that research has shown to boost school attendance and willingness to do homework, reduce discipline problems and dropout rates, and raise student achievement and social outcomes. It also can end the cycle of parent-teacher blame, especially in communities where children have traditionally underachieved, by building trust between teachers and parents.
This is about identifying parents and teachers as "co-educators," who share respective knowledge about that student. It's about helping teachers become culturally aware and parents seriously involved in their child's education.
This isn't "parent involvement," in the form of Valentine's Day parties, or "parent communication," in the form of one-way emails. Rather, this is about identifying parents and teachers as "co-educators," who share respective knowledge about that student. It's about helping teachers become culturally aware and parents seriously involved in their child's education.
When Romulus teacher Kathleen Forrest sits down at another mother's dining-room table, she says simply, "The purpose of this visit is to build a relationship…"
Teacher DeAnn Covert (middle) and Romulus Education Association President Shawn Shivnen (right) visit Barbréa Finney at her home.
Union-led Collaboration
Across the U.S., the Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project (PTHVP) trained nearly 5,000 teachers in 2014. Its partners include NEA Priority Schools in Alabama, California, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oregon, and Washington State; and also two of the NEA Foundation's "Closing the Achievement Gaps Initiative" sites: Seattle and Springfield, Massachusetts.
Whenever I've had powerful change in a student, whether it's academic or social, it's because I've worked hand in hand with a parent.
"NEA is the place where people are investing most effectively," said Carrie Rose, PTHVP executive director — and that includes NEA Priority Schools, where NEA has paid for PTHVP training to help local educators in their broad efforts to build community partnerships, improve teacher quality, and transform their low-achieving schools into the schools that every child deserves.
"We realized early on that stronger relationships with families and communities would be key to transforming some of our most struggling schools, so we made the investment," said Andrea Prejean, Director of NEA's Priority Schools. "The partnership with THVP just made sense."
"This is where it starts, folks," said Romulus fifth-grade teacher Julie Hirchert, who helped kick-start Romulus' home-visit program three years ago. "This is the foundation for everything you want to do, as a teacher… Whenever I've had powerful change in a student, whether it's academic or social, it's because I've worked hand in hand with a parent."
And it's not just anecdotal evidence. Studies also support Hirchert's findings.
In Sacramento, a three-year study found that teacher home-visits corresponded to a 6.5 percentage point gain in reading tests and 9.8 in math, plus improved graduation rates.
In Mason County, Kentucky, after seven years of home visits, researchers found the district had moved from 126th to 30th on statewide tests, and that discipline referrals had reduced significantly.
And, in Maplewood Richmond Heights, Missouri, discipline referrals declined by 45 percent and parent involvement improved by 20 percent. Not surprisingly, student achievement followed.
What is a Home Visit?
Leave your paper and pencil in the car. When you walk through that front door, it's just you. Actually, it's not just you. Bring a partner. And both of you must be trained and paid for your time.
These are the shared traits of all home-visit programs, said Rose. Also, and this is important: Focus the conversation on building trust and relationships. This is not the time to talk about test scores or bring up that cafeteria fight. Ask parents about their "hopes and dreams" for their children, and share your own hopes and dreams for your students.
Teachers Kathleen Forest and DeAnn Covert (right) meet with a parent and her child.
Erica wants to be a chef. Davvion's mom won't settle for anything else than a college degree. And Michael's parents want to raise a "man of integrity." "To ask parents about their hopes and dreams, and to know that it might be the first time they've been asked that question and that you're getting that thought process started… it's very powerful," said Nick Faber, vice president of the St. Paul Federation of Teachers, a joint NEA-AFT affiliate.
Four years ago in St. Paul, after an NEA grant provided training, about six teachers visited 15 homes. This year, "it looks like we'll reach 1,000," said Faber.
But the most impressive number in St. Paul is this one: $75,000. That's how much the district must set aside to pay teachers for home visits, according to their collectively bargained contract. (It's $50 per visit.) Teachers asked the union's bargaining team to put the program into their contract, forcing administrators to commit to the program. "We really wanted to be able to say that we, as a union, are stepping up to get our members out into the community to better understand our students, especially our students of color, so that we can start to break down some of the disparities in academic achievement and behavior," said Faber.
Ninety percent of the St. Paul visits "have been to black and brown families," he said, and many are poor or working-class. Meanwhile, 90 percent of the visiting teachers are White. With those cultural and socio-economic differences in mind, home visits can be a powerful tool. In a recent program evaluation, nearly eight out of 10 St. Paul home-visit teachers said it "changed assumptions they had about parents."
After You Say Good-bye
In both St. Paul and Romulus, teachers usually conclude a home visit with an invitation — "Please come to school for…" And parents do. "If I invite them, they always come," said Romulus' Forrest, who coordinates a quarterly academic-focused Parent University.
More immediately, teachers return to school with great information. They have a better understanding of a child's behavior, and more appreciation of how a child's home environment may be related to school performance.
"When you have a kid walk into class, you just see the kid," said Hirchert. But after a home visit, when that student walks into class "you see his aunt, his uncle, the drawing pad that he brought to share with you — it's a whole picture. I get immeasurable data about what inspires them and motivates them."
Before the Romulus teachers sat down on Finney's couch, they had no idea of the previous trauma in the girls' lives. It is information that is very valuable to them. "As I teacher I can now say to this mother, 'I see your daughter withdrawing… Is it about that time of year?' And it's something this mother and I can talk about, and work together on," said DeAnn Covert, who reached across the couch to Finney and told her, "I am blessed to be in your home."
When the conversation turns to the "hopes and dreams" of the four girls, Finney tells Covert, "I want these girls to go to college."
From around the corner, a small voice says, "I want to be a teacher."
Teachers and Their Classrooms: Parental Involvement
POST TAGS: teacher home visits
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Across the country, news stories continue to scare buyers into thinking that the market may continue to fall – and that prices will drop even more.
The truth is, whether home prices rise or fall in the near future is irrelevant, because a home is for the long term. It's a place to live and build a future. What matters is that right now, you can own the home you want for a fixed monthly payment that will fit comfortably within your budget – and will become even more comfortable as your income rises over time.
If you want the independence and pride of home ownership, waiting to see if prices go even lower could prove to be an expensive mistake. Interest rates could rise at any time, eliminating any savings from a lower price. In fact, in order to offset a 1% increase in interest rates, your mortgage loan balance would have to drop by 11%.
A $150,000 mortgage loan at 4% carries a monthly payment of $716.12.
Staying with the $150,000 mortgage loan balance, an increase from 4% to 5% would raise your monthly payment to $805.23 – that's $89.11 per month, or $1,069.32 per year.
Waiting could mean purchasing a less desirable home, or paying considerably more per month.
When you own a home you have a safe port to come home to each day. It's yours, and as long as you continue to make your payments, no one can tell you to leave or tell you how to live within your walls.
You can make improvements knowing that you and your loved ones will be the beneficiaries of your efforts.
•	Tenants have to follow rules set down by landlords: No pets, no basketball hoop on the garage, no cars left in the driveway, no noise, no hanging pictures on the wall, no repainting rooms… and on and on.
•	You have no security and thus no "home" to call your own – because you could be required to move at the end of your lease.
•	Your landlord could sell the property or be foreclosed upon – and you would have to move.
•	As a tenant, you're building equity for the landlord, not for yourself.
•	But worst of all, monthly rents can and will increase – probably every time you renew your lease.
Thus, anyone who has good credit, a little cash for a down payment, and plans to remain in the community should be looking for a home right now. It's the only sensible thing to do.