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In the United States, it's generally up to state leaders to ensure that their state's students receive a high-quality education. From allocating funding to deciding how to hold schools and colleges accountable for improving student outcomes, state leaders are responsible for many decisions that affect how districts, schools, and institutions of higher education do their work. But state leaders have a long history of making decisions that negatively affect students from underserved communities. Fortunately, impactful decisions can be made at all levels. That's where the role of advocates come in.
Change rarely happens without pressure from people committed to educational justice — parents and families, community and business leaders, educators, and other advocates. Education Watch can help arm advocates with data that can push leaders in their states, districts, and schools to do better for all students —especially for students from low-income families, students of color, and English learners.
What the demographics of your state's students look like
If your state is providing all groups of students with equitable access to key educational resources
How your state's schools and colleges preparing all students for success after graduation
P-12 Higher Ed
Demographic Overview
This section provides a context for understanding other data presented in this report. As you will see, access to learning resources and performance outcomes vary greatly across student groups. Knowing the size of each student group, and where students go to school can help education leaders plan more effectively to meet the academic needs of all students.
By Race and Ethnicity
Public schools educate students from diverse backgrounds. This chart shows the percentages of students by race and ethnicity enrolled in your schools.
Source: Data are for 2015-16. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data
P-12 Demographic Overview
Public schools educate students from diverse backgrounds. This chart shows the percentages of low-income students, students with disabilities, and English learners enrolled in your schools.
Source: Free/reduced price lunch percentages are for 2014-15; all other data are for 2016. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data; U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates
By Income, Language Learner, and Disability Status
Where Do Students Go to School?
By School Locale
This chart shows the percentages of schools located in different geographic areas – rural, urban and suburban. It also shows the percentages of students attending school in each type of geographic locale. Where are most schools in your state located? Where do most students go to school?
More than 60 years after Brown v. Board, most White students still attend schools that are predominantly White and most Black, Latino and Native students attend schools that predominantly serve students of color. School segregation deprives all students of the chance to learn and interact with peers who come from different racial and cultural backgrounds. But it's especially damaging for historically underserved students of color, whose schools receive less of nearly every critical educational resource, from funding, to curricular options, to our strongest teachers. How segregated are the schools in your state?
By Level of School Segregation
The United States is often touted as the land of equal opportunity, but you don't have to look any further than the U.S. education system to know that the opportunities that this country provides today are anything but equal. In fact, the U.S. education system has a history of giving some students less of everything they need to succeed in school.
Is your state providing all groups of students with equitable access to key learning resources and opportunities? Use the indicators below to find out.
*District funding data for the District of Columbia is excluded from the within-state gap analysis because it is one district.
Early Childhood Education Enrollment Rate
By Student Group
A missing bar means estimates suppressed when the confidence interval around the percentage is greater than or equal to 10 percentage points.
High-quality early learning can help level the playing field before kids start kindergarten. But across the nation, children from low-income families and children of color are less likely to be enrolled in preschool than their White and higher income peers. What do enrollment patterns look like your state?
Source: Data are for 2012-2016. National Kids Count Data Center, Young Children Not in School
Access to Early Childhood Education
N/A means estimates suppressed when the confidence interval around the percentage is greater than or equal to 10 percentage points.
School Discipline and Chronic Absenteeism
Out-of-School Suspension Rate
Exclusionary discipline practices, like out-of-school suspensions, place students at risk of all sorts of negative consequences — from falling behind in school, to dropping out, to entering the juvenile justice system. Nationally, students of color — especially Black students — are more likely to receive out-of-school suspensions than their White peers, often for the same offenses. What are the out-of-school suspension rates in your state?
Source: Data are for 2013-14. Civil Rights Data Collection, State and National Estimations
To take advantage of the potential of public education, children need to be in in class. Students who are chronically absent — i.e., miss a substantial number of school days — are more likely to fall behind and drop out of school. What are the chronic absenteeism rates in your state?
Chronic Absenteeism Rate
Access to Strong and Diverse Teachers
Assignment to Inexperienced Teachers
In 4th Grade Reading
Teachers make a big difference for kids. While there is no perfect way to measure excellent teaching, students who are consistently taught by inexperienced teachers are more likely to lose out. What percent of fourth grade students in your state are taught reading by a brand new teacher?
Source: Data are for 2015. National Center for Education Statistics, Certification Status and Experience of U.S. Public School Teachers
What percent of eighth grade students in your state are taught math by a brand new teacher?
In 8th Grade Math
Teacher Demographics
Reporting standards not met.
*No Data: Teachers in a racial group for which reporting standards were not met.
Nationally, our teacher workforce does not reflect the diversity of our public schools: While more than half of all students are students of color, more than 80 percent of teachers are White. Research shows that all students benefit from the opportunity to learn from teachers of other races and ethnicities — but it's especially critical for students of color. Research also shows that students of color who have had a teacher of the same race or ethnicity are more likely to attend school regularly, perform higher on end-of-year assessments, graduate high school, and consider college. How does the percent of teachers of color compare to the percent of students of color in your state?
Source: Data are for 2011-12. National Center for Education Statistics, School and Staffing Survey
Access to Rigorous Coursework
Students Taking Algebra or Higher in 8th Grade
By Income Level
Data missing because Reporting standards were not met.
Nationally, students from low-income families are less likely to have access to accelerated math coursework. How accessible are rigorous eighth-grade math courses in your state?
Source: Data are for 2017. National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP Data Explorer
Students do not have equal access to a challenging curriculum. One curriculum recognized nationwide for its rigor is the Advanced Placement (AP) program. AP students take college-level courses that culminate in challenging tests. How do the demographics of AP test takers compare to the demographics of all students in your state?
Source: Data are for 2016. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data; College Board, AP State Reports
Demographics of High School Students and AP Test Takers
Disparities in resources and opportunities for learning, in turn, lead to large disparities in student outcomes. In this section, learn how your state is doing at preparing all groups of students for postsecondary success. What percent of students are on grade level in reading and math? Are these outcomes improving over time? How do graduation rates and rates of college readiness compare across student groups?
Four-Year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate
N/A means data are not available or have been suppressed to protect student privacy.
Whether a student plans to pursue college or to enter the workforce after high school, graduating with a high school degree is becoming non-negotiable. This chart shows the 4-year graduation rates for students overall and each student group in your state. How well is your state doing in graduating all groups of students on time?
4th Grade Reading Performance
State Assessment and NAEP
All states annually test students' knowledge and skills to determine whether students are meeting grade-level standards. But the rigor of states' tests and standards vary widely. One way to assess the rigor of state standards is to compare student proficiency rates on state tests with those on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a highly regarded, long-standing assessment of student learning. How do your state's results on the state assessment compare to the NAEP exam?
Source: Data are for 2017. National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP Data Explorer; State Department of Education Website
Overall averages mask underlying gaps in achievement, so it is important to know how your state is doing both overall and for each group of students. These next two charts display how your state performed on the NAEP exam for each student group. Both charts show the percent of students who are Proficient or Advanced in green, the percent that are at the Basic level in yellow, and the percent scoring Below Basic in red. How is your state doing for different groups of students?
NAEP 4th Grade Reading Results
N/A signifies that there weren't enough students tested to report results.
How is your state doing for different groups of students?
These next two charts show fourth-grade reading performance of various student groups over time. The pattern is encouraging if it shows rising student achievement and narrowing gaps between student groups. How is your state doing in reducing disparities between groups?
NAEP 4th Grade Reading Scale Scores Over Time
How is your state doing in reducing disparities between groups?
NAEP Scale Scores for Students Overall
Comparing NAEP results across states reveals that some states are far more successful than others in educating students to high levels. This chart compares the performance of fourth graders in reading in your state to all others. How does your state compare?
NAEP Scale Scores for Students from Low-Income Families
Comparing NAEP results across states reveals that some states are far more successful than others in educating students from low-income families. This chart compares the reading results of low-income fourth-graders in your state to this group's results in other states. How is your state doing compared to others?
8th Grade Math Performance
All states annually test students' knowledge and skills to determine whether students are meeting grade-level standards. But the rigor of states' tests and standards vary widely. One way to assess the rigor of state standards is to compare student proficiency rates on state tests with those on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a highly-regarded, long-standing assessment of student learning. How do your state's results on the state assessment compare to the NAEP exam?
Overall averages mask underlying gaps in achievement, so it is important to know how your state is doing both overall and for each group of students. These next two charts display how your state performed on NAEP for each student group. Both charts show the percent of students who are Proficient or Advanced in green, the percent that are at the Basic level in yellow, and the percent scoring Below Basic in red. How is your state doing for different groups of students?
NAEP 8th Grade Math Results
These next two charts show eighth-grade math performance of various student groups over time. The pattern is encouraging if it shows rising student achievement and narrowing gaps between student groups. How is your state doing in reducing disparities between groups?
NAEP 8th Grade Math Scale Scores Over Time
Comparing NAEP results across states reveals that some states are far more successful than others in educating students to high levels. This chart compares the performance of eighth graders in math in your state to all others. How does your state compare?
Comparing NAEP results across states reveals that some states are far more successful than others in educating students from low-income families. This chart compares the math results of low-income eighth-graders in your state to this group's results in other states. How is your state doing compared to others?
High School Completion and Readiness for Postsecondary Success
Taking a college-entrance exam is a critical step toward enrolling in higher education.
In the District of Columbia, 90 percent of graduating students take the SAT
The SAT is an often-used measure of college-readiness. While many students take the assessment, there are large variations in whether or not students are scoring at college-ready levels. What percent of graduating seniors who took the test are meeting college-ready benchmarks in both reading and math?
Source: Data are for 2017. College Board, The SAT Suite of Assessments Annual Report
Percent of Students Meeting Both the Math & Reading Benchmarks on the SAT
Percent of AP Tests Receiving a 3 or Higher
Data for Native students are based on the results of fewer than 50 exams.
Expanding access to advanced courses is critical — but so is making sure that student receive the preparation and support to succeed in these classes. Big differences passing rates should raise questions about the quality of instruction or educational resources provided in courses labeled Advanced Placement. How is your state doing preparing all students for success on AP exams?
Source: Data are for 2016. College Board, AP Data State Reports
Higher Education Enrollment Rate for Recent High School Graduates
How does your state compare to others in getting high school students to college? This chart shows the percentage of high school graduates in the 2011-2012 class who went on to attend a degree-granting postsecondary institution.
Source: Data are for 2012. National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics, Table 302.50
While U.S. colleges and universities are more diverse than ever before, many are not keeping pace with the growing racial and ethnic diversity of the country. In today's society, diverse campus environments have powerful benefits for students. In today's society, diverse campus environments have powerful benefits for students.
Do you know the demographic makeup of the students in your state? Use this tool to find out, and then in the next two sections, see how well the District of Columbia's colleges and universities are supporting students to success
College Enrollment Overview
College enrollment by race and ethnicity is the percentage of undergraduate students in the 2016 fall semester. The data are further broken down by the type of institution. How does your state's college enrollment diversity compare to your state's overall diversity for 18-24 years olds? Comparing the diversity of undergraduate enrollment for the 2016 fall semester to your state's average overall population diversity of 18-24 year olds for the three-year period between 2014 and 2016, provides insight into how well your state's colleges and universities are doing at ensuring access for all student groups, especially those that have historically been shut out.
*Sources: State Population Data is provided from Census, American Community Survey; Institutional Population Data is provided from Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).
By Race & Ethnicity, and Institutional Type
By Family Income and Institutional Type
College enrollment by family income compares the percentage of undergraduate students awarded Pell grants to the percentage of students not receiving grants, for the academic year 2015-16. The data are further broken down by type of institution. How does your state's enrollment of students from low-income families compare to your state's general population? Comparing the percentage of low-income students enrolled at colleges and universities in your state to the percentage of low-income families in your state provides insight into how well your state is doing at ensuring higher education's promise of a better life for future generations. This chart compares the percentage of low-income students enrolled in college to the percent of 11th and 12th graders from families earning less than 200 percent of the national poverty line. It relies on the average percentage of students for the three-year period from 2014-2016.
Sources: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and Census, American Community Survey
Research shows that campus diversity has a positive impact on student success. So how are colleges and universities in the District of Columbia doing to ensure that all students have equitable access to resources and opportunities?
The fact is, most elite colleges and universities in the U.S. produce a disproportionate percentage of the country's "powerful," who have influence in business, politics, and other aspects of society. They also over-enroll White students and under-enroll low-income students and students of color when compared to the makeup of the United States.
Average Net Price of Attendance at Four-Year Public Colleges
As a Percent of Median Family Income By State
The Average Net Price is the total cost a low-income student (Income $0 to $30,000) will pay after subtracting grant-based financial aid that students do not have to repay. Data are for students enrolled during the academic year 2015-16. Compared to median family income in 2015.
College Affordability for Students from Low-Income Families
Average Net Price of Attendance at Two-Year Public Colleges
After decades of focusing on college access, especially for students of color and low-income students, education leaders should keep an equal emphasis on supporting students to graduation. It doesn't mean much — and can even be financially disastrous — for a student to start college but never finish with a degree.
Unfortunately, there are inequities in graduation rates — from narrow to extreme — depending on the college students attend:
A Look at Black Student Success A Look at Latino Student Success
The Pell Partnership: Ensuring a Shared Responsibility for Students from Low Income Families Rising Tide: Do College Grad Rate Gains Benefit All Students?
Intentionally Successful: Improving Minority Student College Graduation Rates Advancing to Completion: Increasing Degree Attainment by Improving Graduation Rates
But there are also examples of colleges that are ensuring that more students make it to and through college.
See how colleges and universities in the District of Columbia are doing.
Six-Year Graduation Rate at Four-Year Colleges
Graduation rate is the percent of first-time, full-time bachelor's degree-seeking students who completed within six years of enrolling in the academic year starting fall 2010. (2010 fall cohort).
Source: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)
College Success Outcomes
Graduation rate is the percentage of Pell grant and non-Pell grant recipients who are first-time, full-time bachelor's degree-seeking students and who completed within six years of enrolling in the academic year starting fall 2010. (2010 fall cohort).
By Family Income
Three-Year Graduation Rate at Public Community Colleges
* Data not available for community colleges in the District of Columbia.
Graduation rate is the percentage of first-time, full-time associate's degree- or certificate-seeking students who completed within 150 percent normal program time at two-year institutions in 2015-16.
Graduation rate is the percent of Pell Grant and non-Pell Grant recipients who are first-time, full-time associate's degree- or certificate-seeking students and who completed within 150 percent normal program time at two-year institutions by state.
Associate's Degree or Higher Attainment
The college attainment rate is the percentage of 25-64 year-old adults who have completed an associate's degree or above. See how your state stacks up.
Source: Census, American Community Survey
The college attainment rate is the percentage of 25-64 year-old adults who have completed a bachelor's degree or above. See how your state stacks up.
Bachelor's Degree or Higher Attainment
Interested in learning about another State?
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6 Health Risks Of Staying In Someone Else's Home
11/13/2014 08:18am EST | Updated December 7, 2017
By Amanda MacMillan
Holiday travel season is almost here, and this year more people than ever could opt for nontraditional lodging once they reach their destination -- renting rooms, apartments or entire houses on home-sharing websites like Airbnb, HomeAway and VRBO. (Airbnb had 1 million guests in the last two months of 2013 alone, TechCrunch reports.) But is staying in a stranger's house, or even in a family member's guest room for that matter, as clean and safe as staying in a hotel?
Hosts who register with these sites are given hospitality standards and responsible hosting guidelines to follow, and user reviews can alert guests to potential dangerous or unsanitary situations before they book. Airbnb, the largest vacation-rental website, also recommends that hosts keep a first-aid kit in their house, and will require that all units confirm they have working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors by the end of the year.
But rentals are rarely inspected by the companies that list them, and it's up to each host to ensure that standards are met. And no matter where you go, being away from home always entails some degree of health risks, especially during the busy winter travel season, says Edwidge Thomas, nurse practitioner and director of clinical practice affairs at the New York University College of Nursing.
Here are six common risks to look out for, and how to safeguard against them.
Cold And Flu Germs
When you arrive at your temporary lodging, it's a good idea to wipe down surfaces you'll have the most contact with -- like doorknobs, the remote control and the bathroom counter -- with disinfecting wipes. "I always travel with the pre-moistened Clorox wipes," says Thomas. "They're a great way to not only clean up after yourself, but also after the person who may have been there before you."
If the tactic sounds a bit germaphobic, consider this: The influenza virus can survive on nonporous surfaces for up to 48 hours, and norovirus (AKA stomach flu) can survive for several days.
Poor Kitchen Hygiene
If you're staying with friends or family, or at a bed-and-breakfast where meals are prepared for you, try to get an idea of how meals are prepared, how clean the kitchen is kept and whether foods like raw meat and poultry are kept separate from other ingredients, says Thomas. "You don't want to offend your hosts, but if you're worried about the safety of the food, you can always claim a dietary restriction."
It's easier if you're alone in someone else's house, but bacteria can still lurk on counters and unwashed areas for days after the last person used them. "I recommend using wipes on any kitchen surfaces you're going to be in contact with," says Thomas, "and washing cutting boards with hot, soapy water before using them."
Spoiled Food In The Fridge
Bacteria worries aside, renting a house or apartment with a full kitchen -- including a refrigerator -- can be one advantage over staying in a hotel room. Some rental hosts even leave food for their guests, or instructions about which items and ingredients in the fridge or pantry are up for grabs.
"But before you take anything, check expiration dates first," says Thomas; "and make sure perishable foods look and smell okay." It's also important to be sure the refrigerator is kept at the right temperature -- at or below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, with the freezer at or below zero degrees -- and that it appears clean and free of bacterial growth.
As long as you're staying in the home of someone you know and trust, or a host who has good reviews on a home rental website, it's fairly safe to assume that they've left you with clean bed sheets and towels. But that doesn't necessarily mean the linens are safe for everyone to use: People with sensitive skin or allergies may react badly to fabrics washed in certain detergents or abrasive cleaners, says Thomas. And pillows and duvets that aren't laundered regularly may harbor dust mites that can aggravate asthma, eczema and hay fever, according to a 2006 University of Worcester study.
"I have clients who always travel with their own sheets and towels because they just feel more comfortable knowing how and when they've been washed," says Thomas. "If they're worried about waking up with a rash or itchy skin, it's a good precaution to take." People with pet allergies or asthma may want to confirm before arriving that there is no pet dander, cigarette residue, or other potential triggers in the home, as well.
One in five Americans has had a bedbug infestation or knows someone who has, according to the National Pest Management Association. So anywhere you're sleeping in a bed that's not your own, it's smart to be on the lookout. These critters can hitch a ride to other homes in travelers' suitcases, so the more people passing through a rental apartment or a friend's guest room, the greater the chance that someone brings along the unwanted companions.
Protect yourself in someone else's home the same way you would in a hotel: Keep your luggage off the ground and the bed during your stay, and inspect the bed upon arrival. Pull back the linens and check under the mattress and behind the headboard for blood stains, small black dots, or the bugs themselves, which are about the size of an apple seed.
Slipping Or Tripping Hazards
While hotel rooms generally have cookie-cutter setups, a guest home or apartment can be totally unique -- which can be a good thing or a bad thing in terms of safety. "Watch out for any loose carpeting, rugs or cords you could potentially injure yourself on," says Thomas.
Give the bathroom a good safety inspection, as well. Can you climb in and out of the bathtub easily? Is there a mat on the floor to keep you from slipping with bare feet? (If not, put a towel down.) Some rental services, like Airbnb, ask hosts to ensure their properties are free of such hazards, that stairways have railings and that potentially dangerous areas are clearly marked -- but it still can't hurt to be extra cautious while you're getting the lay of the land.
More from Health.com:
10 Biggest Myths About The Flu
14 Types of Food That Can Make You Sick
15 Tips for Avoiding Hotel Bedbugs
6 Health Risks of Staying in Someone Else's Home originally appeared on Health.com
15 Unique Hotel Stays
healthy livinghealth.comBed Bugs

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Pack your bags for your next getaway and do not forget the bright and beautiful sleeveless romper! Easy for every day wear, pair with a sandal by day and add a shawl for your evening beach party! With a beautiful cross-front style and tie, this romper is ready for your next adventure.


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Richard Shotton: burden of proof
"The Choice Factory" is the most popular new book for marketers so far this year. Well read, well discussed and well liked from everyone, it casts an eye on the the history of how customers come to given decisions, and the psychological background behind them doing so. We caught up with its author Richard Shotton on the book's themes, and their applicability to contemporary marketing.
What was your thinking behind writing a book?
RS: The initial reason for writing the book was laziness. I was running lots of psychology experiments for my agency, trying to show how behavioural science could be applied to advertising. Afterwards, planners would come up to me and say - you ran an experiment for such-and-such a brand a few months ago, can you share the results so that we can apply them elsewhere?
Unfortunately, my filling was so woeful that I could rarely find the results, or all that I had was a three-slide presentation of full-bleed images. That was frankly useless, so I ended up re-running many of the experiments.
That was when the laziness kicked in. I thought - whenever I do an experiment, I'm going to write it up, send it to Campaign or MediaTel, and I'll have a permanent record. That way, the next time people ask me for the data I can just send them the article. The plan worked well and saved me loads of time.
However, I began to think, if I've written all these articles, why not use them - not as a cut and paste job - but as source material for writing a book?
That was the honest reason for it. The post-rationalisation is that there is something slightly crazy about marketing today.
Everything that we're trying to do concerns behavioural change – whether that's getting consumers to pay more, switch brands, or buy more regularly. It's all about behaviour change. So why wouldn't you as an advertiser draw on the science of behaviour change?
There are lots of amazing books about popular psychology, but few of them apply it to advertising. I felt that there was a real gap for a practical, simple book that applied behavioural science to advertising..
How does the book help the reader to understand the theories and practices regarding social psychology?
RS: I was keen that the book did two things.
First, that it was practical. Each chapter covers a single bias – it looks at the academic evidence, my own experiments and most importantly, the advertising applications. The bulk of each chapter covers how you should adapt your marketing in the light of the bias – whether that's pricing or promotion, planning or creative.
Second, there has been a lot of coverage in the industry in the last few years of a handful of biases. Social proof, loss aversion and the like. I wanted to discuss some of the lesser known biases, like the pratfall effect and Goodhart's Law. These are hugely relevant to advertising but haven't had as much coverage.
What are your thoughts on the relationship between behavioural science and the advertising industry today?
RS: For many people outside of the industry, I think that they'd be surprised at how little psychology and behavioural science are used by marketers.
There's a historical reason for that. From the 1930s onwards you had famous, cutting-edge psychologists in advertising: people like Louis Cheskin and Ernest Dichter advising brands.
Cheskin, for example, was the guy who turned margarine yellow, realising that when you tasted this grey gloop, it wasn't the taste that people disliked, it was the aesthetics. So, a lot of these great psychologists were in agencies, or worked with them.
Let's now fast forward to 1957, when Vance Packard wrote The Hidden Persuaders. He made the false claim that advertisers used subliminal messaging to manipulate consumers. Because of this, psychology fell out of favour in agencies. They felt that its application was ethically unsound. I don't think that advertising has fully recovered from that. The gap has been filled with the more rational school of thinking in business, and psychology is left out.
But, on a positive note, that is changing. Over the past couple of years, I've noticed that clients are coming with more and more questions about behavioural science.
Why should advertisers trust behavioural science and psychology as a means to improve campaign effectiveness?
RS: Despite the £20bn spent on advertising in the UK per year, a worrying proportion of marketing decisions are based on flimsy evidence. Too often they're based on the opinion of the highest-paid person or most eloquent person in the room. Basing your decisions on peer-reviewed evidence from psychology and behavioural science is certainly an improvement on that.
However, there are some specific objections to behavioural science. For example, some critics point out many of the classic findings are based on lab experiments involving students. That may have been a fair criticism in the 1960s and 1970s, but many modern experiments are conducted outside of the lab.
For example, there's a wonderful study by Elliot Aronson, a psychology professor at Harvard in the 1960s, who came up with the idea of the Pratfall Effect. His original lab study involved recording an actor taking part in a quiz. The actor had been given the answers in advance so unsurprisingly he performs brilliantly and answers 92% of the questions correctly. However, after he finishes the quiz, the participant makes a blunder. He stands up and knocks a cup of coffee down himself.
Aronson takes that recording and plays one of two versions to people: either the entire recording with the final mistake, or just the quiz. What he finds is that the contestant is significantly more appealing when they have exhibited that flaw.
Aronson termed this the pratfall effect – essentially the idea that people or products who exhibit a flaw become more appealing. What's interesting about that finding is that it was initially based on a lab experiment, but it has recently been proved in the real-world.
In 2015, North Western University undertook analysis of more than 111,000 product reviews. They looked at the likelihood of purchasing a product after reading a review. They discovered a clear pattern whereby the likelihood of purchase increases as the review score improved. However, as Aronson predicts you then reach a stage - between 4.2 and 4.5 out of 5, dependent on the product category - in which likelihood to purchase peaks, and then declines afterwards.
Consumers know from bitter experience that there is always a trade-off in life. No product is perfect. If you don't reveal where your flaw is, you leave it to consumers to guess. And they may assume that flaw lies in a crucial area.
Many of the best advertising campaigns have used the Pratfall Effect. VW: "ugly is only skin deep". Guinness - "good things come to those who wait". Listerine - "the taste you hate twice a day".
The best ads have harnessed this bias - partly to gain trust. Consumers assume that advertisers don't tell the truth so one of the ways to solve that trust gap is to admit a weakness, and tangibly prove your honesty. Your other claims then become more believable.
The best advertisers also pick a weakness that has a mirror strength. VW - we're ugly because we don't care about aesthetic fripperies; we care about engineering excellence. Listerine - we taste horrible, but so do all potent medicines.
When brands make mistakes, they are often slow to act, which causes negativity within their customer base. How can this situation be improved?
RS: The interesting thing about the brands that have used it best - Stella, cream cakes (Naughty but Nice) and so on - they have not blundered and then apologised for it. They have actively publicised their flaw, which is the most powerful way to do it.
A brand's reaction to a mistake is fascinating though. Advertisers too often believe in an input model, when they should be focussed on the output model. The input model, according to Jeremy Bullmore, works as follows is: I say that I am humble, which conveys humility. The output model is such that it doesn't matter what I say, it's what is received by the consumer that is key. If I go out and say that I am humble, then the consumer in the output model will take a very different reading from the situation.
That applies to the lack of apology; the brand sticks its head in the sand and assumes that people will think nothing, but actually if there is a void, a vacuum, consumers will fill it with possibly the worst possible interpretation available.
How can clients and agencies be persuaded to change?
RS: I think that we should have a more nuanced approach to risk than we may currently have. If I said that you should completely change your brand approach based on the Pratfall Effect, you would probably want a huge amount of evidence [to change].
However, if you were thinking of changing your banner or search copy, and I told you about the idea of social proof - a well-known bias that when a course of behaviour is seen to be popular it becomes more popular still - then the risk of testing that idea is minimal. You should only require a low burden of proof.
The fact that there's a well-proven theory of social proof should give you the confidence to run a small A/B test. That will then give you the proof as to whether the bias applies in your specific circumstances. Then you can consider using it in on a larger scale.
But, don't go and ask consumers whether a social proof message is powerful. Consumers will invariably deny it, they will claim that they act in a rational, logical manner. But, a whole body of evidence shows that this is not the case.
Robert Cialdini, a brilliant psychologist at Arizona State University, devised an ingenious experiment at a hotel in the US. He randomly rotated the messages that encouraged people to reuse their towels. One third of the rooms had a notice which read: "Please reuse your towel as it's good for the environment". That's the control and in that scenario 35% of people re-used their towel.
His test, using social proof, was "Please reuse your towel because most guests do so". Even though he jettisons all rational messaging, the reuse rate went up to 44%. The final third of rooms had a notice: "Please reuse your towel because most guests who have stayed in this room have done so". Reuse increased to 49%.
This is genuine behaviour change in a real-world experiment. What is fascinating here is that there is an amazing amount of nuance to it. The first point is that social proof is powerful, more effective than the control message. The second point is that scale does not matter; it's about making a relevant link with the audience.
The third point, the twist in the experiment, is that after the real-world test Cialdini recruits another group of participants and showed them the three messages. Cialdini asks them which one would motivate them to change their behaviour.
Overwhelmingly, people claimed that it was the environmental message that would affect them. That's very different to their actual behaviour - and it's different in a predictable way. People try to project an image of behaving in a socially responsible, rational manner. No-one wants to admit that they are swayed by the herd. Yet, the evidence suggests that we are.
What are the behavioural changes that you would like to see in advertising?
RS: A willingness to test ideas from social psychology. A greater reluctance to believe that consumers have fundamentally changed in the last few years. There is a worrying fixation in marketing with fads and fashions. The logic is the warped version of: "Technology has changed loads, therefore how can the things that once worked still work now?"
That's a big mistake, because human nature is remarkably static. There's a wonderful Bill Bernbach quote: "It took millions of years for man's instincts to develop. It will take millions more for them to even vary. It is fashionable to talk about changing man. A communicator must be concerned with unchanging man, with his obsessive drive to survive, to be admired, to succeed, to love, to take care of his own."
Bernbach said that 50 years ago, but it's ignored too much in advertising now.
I recently did a test with over 200 people in agencies, where I invented a fictitious study from the Harvard Business School. I told them about the Pratfall Effect. I said that Harvard Business School found that if you admit a weakness, you become more appealing. I then asked how credible that was.
The twist was that half of the group was told that it was from 1973, and the other half was told that it was from 2013. People were 10% more likely to find the claim credible if it was positioned as coming from 2013. So, there's still this emphasis, this prioritisation, towards modern, new, novel things rather than the proven bedrock of insights into human nature which we have in social psychology.
Richard Shotton is Deputy Head of Evidence at Manning Gottlieb OMD. The Choice Factory is published by Harriman House and is available to buy now.
Instagram tests a new "Questions" feature
The warmth of Net culture in the 1990s


Your favourite Super Heroes and Villains are being Venomized to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Venom! Standing about 3 3/4-inches tall, this Venomized Iron Man Pop! Vinyl figure is packaged in a window display box and stands approx. 10 cm tall.
Very cool use of venom with iron man love this, will have to pick one up.


text:
Kuchnia Balearów – zaliczana do kuchni śródziemnomorskiej, ma jednak cechy, które wyróżniają ją od innych kuchni typu śródziemnomorskiego. Duży wpływ mają ograniczenia terytorialne i morskie położenie wysp, a także klimat i historia.

Zwyczaje kuchni balearskiej
Posiłki spożywane są tutaj znacznie wcześniej w jakiejkolwiek części Hiszpanii. Są one bardziej zbliżone do zwyczajów środkowoeuropejskich niż śródziemnomorskich. Do obiadu zasiada się około godziny pierwszej po południu, a do kolacji około ósmej wieczór. Te nietypowe jak na Hiszpanię pory spożywania posiłków są wynikiem dużego napływu turystów, których obecność ma znaczący i widoczny wpływ na życie mieszkańców wysp.
Posiłek zazwyczaj zaczyna się od drobnej przystawki, tzw. tapas, co jest typowo hiszpańskim zwyczajem. Następnie przechodzi się do dania głównego, po którym obowiązkowo następuje deser. Do posiłku najczęściej pija się lekkie wino.
Podstawą diety mieszkańca archipelagu Balearów jest wieprzowina i warzywa. Często również ryby i owoce morza.

Wpływy zagraniczne
Zanim Baleary dostały się pod wpływy niedalekiej Katalonii swoje ślady w tutejszej gastronomii pozostawiły poprzednio panujące tutaj ludy jak: Fenicjanie, Rzymianie, Wizygoci oraz Maurowie. Oliwki sprowadzili na wyspę Rzymianie, migdały i pomarańcze Maurowie, papryka, pomidory i ziemniaki przywędrowały na wyspę z hiszpańskich kolonii, a Brytyjczycy zapoczątkowali przemysł mleczny.

Nieodłącznymi elementami krajobrazu wysp są: gaje oliwne, drzewka migdałowe lub figowe.
Prostota kuchni Balearów nie bierze się z ubóstwa ich dawnych czy też obecnych mieszkańców, ale z niesprzyjających warunków do uprawy roślin. Gleby archipelagu są ubogie w minerały wapienne. Majorka i sąsiadujące z nią mniejsze wyspy od starożytności były łakomym kąskiem dla najeźdźców aspirujących do zawładnięcia wodami Morza Śródziemnego oraz piratów. Sprawiło to, że wyspiarze nauczyli się być samowystarczalni, opierając swoją dietę na tym, co byli w stanie sami wyhodować na mało żyznej glebie swoich wysp, niż na eksportowanych produktach.

Tradycyjne potrawy kuchni balearskiej

Tradycyjne potrawy Majorki

 Frit mallorquí – podroby smażone na oliwie z oliwek z ziemniakami, zielonymi papryczkami, cebulą i czosnkiem.
 Tumbet – smażone na oliwie warzywa: bakłażan, czerwona papryka, pomidory, ziemniaki, czosnek, z dodatkiem pietruszki. Tumbet serwowany jest w restauracjach jako danie główne albo jako tapas, czyli popularne w całej Hiszpanii przekąski podawane do napojów.
 Arrós brut – w dosłownym tłumaczeniu brudny ryż. Lokalna wariacja na temat hiszpańskiej paelli. Danie przyrządzane tradycyjnie z zajęczego mięsa (często zastępowane wieprzowiną, drobiem lub królikiem) i warzyw: cebuli, karczochów, pomidorów, podawane z ryżem w głębokim talerzu i spożywane łyżką.

 Sopas malloquínas – miska ugotowanych warzyw i cienko pokrojonego chleba zalana bulionem, spożywana łyżką.  Dobór warzyw zależy od indywidualnego gustu kucharza oraz sezonu; można spotkać także wersje z dodatkiem mięsa lub grzybów.
 Capó al Rei en Jaume – czyli indyk króla Jakuba. Pojawia się na stołach niezwykle rzadko, najczęściej na Boże Narodzenie. Drób pojawia się w majorkańskim domu sporadycznie, zazwyczaj na specjalne okazje. Nadziewa się go jabłkami, rodzynkami i bułką tartą.
 Sobrassada – to najsłynniejszy lokalny produkt, wykorzystywany w kuchni od XVII wieku. Jest to surowa, suszona kiełbasa wieprzowa, przyprawiona solą, rozmarynem, tymiankiem i oregano, słodką lub ostrą papryką, obligatoryjnie pieprzem. Wytwarza się ją z miejscowej, czarnoskórej rasy świń zwanej porc negre lub porcella, wypasającej się na wolności w gajach oliwnych i lasach śródziemnomorskich Majorki. Ich naturalną dietę stanowią dziko rosnące rośliny strączkowe, lucerna, kasztany i figi. Naturalny konserwant dla tej wędliny stanowi słodka (rzadziej pikantna), mielona papryka pimentón. Sobrassada jest tak miękka, że można ją rozsmarowywać na chlebie niczym pasztet. Dawniej suszono ją w domowych piwnicach przez okres od 12-15 miesięcy. Obecnie suszy się ją przez zaledwie 7 tygodni w pomieszczeniach z kontrolowaną temperaturą i wilgotnością. Jej nazwa i sposób wytwarzania jest prawnie chroniony przez Unię Europejską jako produkt lokalny i występuje w 3 podstawowych wersjach: pikantnej, łagodnej oraz z mocnym akcentem ziołowym.
 Allioli – sos z mocną nutą czosnku, uważany za pierwowzór majonezu. Różnorodnie wykorzystywany, jako dodatek do mięsa, chleba itd.
 Empanada mallorquína – pieczony pieróg, którego farsz składa się z baraniny, boczku i sobrassady.
 Pa amb oli – to bardziej przekąska niż danie, jednak znajdziemy je w każdej lokalnej restauracji czy barze, a nie jeden Majorkanin zrezygnowałby dla pa amb oli z wykwintnej kuchni. Jest to opiekany wiejski chleb, polany oliwą z oliwek i natarty czosnkiem. Występuje również w bardziej urozmaiconych wersjach z pomidorem, salami, serem, rukolą, sobrassadą, a nawet owocami morza, w zależności od gustu i apetytu. W dzisiejszych czasach w tawernach i barach tapas serwuje się go z przeróżnymi dodatkami (warzywnymi, rybnymi czy też mięsnymi).
 Sola a la mallorquína – duszona ryba sola serwowana ze smażonymi ziemniakami z dodatkiem czosnku i rodzynek.
 Serviola a la mallorquína – zapiekana ryba z dodatkiem sosu pomidorowego z dodatkiem orzeszków pinii i rodzynek.
 Ensaimada  - deser, największy przysmak Majorki. Tradycyjne ciasto w kształcie ślimaka. Tajemnicą niezwykłego smaku jest proces fermentacji, jakiemu ulega ciasto wyrabiane z wody, jajek, mąki, cukru i tłuszczu wieprzowego. Spotykana w dwóch wariantach: ze śmietanowym, słodkim kremem lub z bakaliami i dużą ilością migdałów. Dawniej spożywana tylko w wielkie święta, dzisiaj pomimo rozpowszechnienia, nie może jej zabraknąć na stole podczas żadnego ważniejszego wydarzenia. Dawniej jej wielkość świadczyła o zamożności rodziny. Podobnie jak sobrassada jest chroniona przez Unię Europejską.
 Gatos de Mallorca – ciastka migdałowe, podawane z lodami waniliowymi.
 Coca – chrupiący placek przypominający nieco pizzę. Przystraja się go tutaj różnorodnymi dodatkami, tym co odróżnia go od włoskiego kuzyna jest kształt (można go formować w dowolny sposób) oraz zauważalny brak sera. Wyśmienitym smakiem wyróżnia się coca d'espinacs, a dodatkiem na ciasto oprócz liści szpinaku są orzeszki piniowe i rodzynki. Warto skosztować również coca amb pinxes (z sardynkami), coca amb trempó (przykryta sałatką warzywną na bazie papryki, cebuli i pomidorów) lub coca amb sobrasada (z plasterkami miejscowej, pikantnej wędliny).
 Burrida de ratjada - płaszczka z migdałami.
 Mero al forn - pieczony strzępiel z kapustą rzymską, pomidorami, cebulą i czosnkiem
 Cordonices con higos - pieczone przepiórki w pysznym sosie na bazie fig, białego wina i gorzkiej czekolady
 Escaldums - pierś indyka duszona w sosie z migdałów, białego wina, bulionu drobiowego i pomidorów
 Conejo en salsa de almendras - królik w sosie migdałowym.

Napoje w kuchni Majorki
Do wszystkich tradycyjnych potraw najczęściej spożywane jest lokalnie produkowane wino:
 Vi de Binissalem - wino z Binissalem,
 Vi de Pla i Llevant - wino z Pla i Llevant,
 Vi de la terra de Serra de Tramuntana – Costa Nord - Wino z regionu Gór Tramuntana – północne wybrzeże Majorki.

Ponadto produkuje się tutaj lokalny likier palo de Mallorca – czarny, gęsty syrop ze stopionego cukru i kory drzewa chinowego. Stosowany jest jako lek na gorączkę i bóle żołądka. Pijany jest również dla przyjemności, w rozcieńczonej formie z wodą sodową. Popularne są również ziołowe nalewki hierbas de Mallorca, ich głównymi składnikami jest tymianek, mięta i anyż. Jeżeli chodzi natomiast o trunki bezalkoholowe na Majorce produkuje się horchata d'ametla – orzeźwiający napój migdałowy.

Tradycyjne potrawy Minorki

 Caldereta de langusta - gęsta zupa z homara gotowana w kociołku, pochodzi z miasteczka Fornells.
 Berenjenas rellenas a la menorquina - bakłażany faszerowane warzywami, a czasem mięsem i rybą, polewane sosem pomidorowym.
 Mahón-Menorca – rodzaj żółtego sera, z którego produkcji słynie Minorka, tradycje jego produkcji mają już 3000 lat.
 Dżin Xoriguer z Maó – najsłynniejszy trunek, wyróżniający się wykwintnym wytrawnym smakiem z wyraźnym aromatem jałowca i delikatnie wyczuwalnym posmakiem drewna.

Dżin Xoriguer z Maó i Mahón-Menorca są produktami regionalnymi prawnie chronionymi przez Unię Europejską.

Tradycyjne potrawy kuchni Ibizy
 Tonyina a l'eivissenca – tuńczyk po ibizyjsku duszony w sosie przyrządzanym z marchewki, cebuli, pomidorów, zielonych papryczek, nasion sosny, rodzynek, soku z cytryny i białego wina wytrawnego oraz przypraw – głównie papryki i majeranku.
 Borrida de Rajada - danie przyrządzane z płaszczki z dodatkiem ziemniaków, jajek, pietruszki, czosnku, smażonego chleba, prażonych migdałów, szafranu i oliwy z oliwek.

Kuchnia Formentery
Kuchnia Formentery wyróżnia się na tle innych wysp archipelagu tylko jedną tradycyjną potrawą:
 Quisat de peix - danie z duszonej ryby i owoców morza oraz ziemniaków.

Bibliografia
 Alcock R. (red.), 2005, Hiszpania, Wydawnictwo Pascal, Bielsko-Biała
 Burns T., 1992, Majorka, Ibiza, Minorka, MUZA S.A., Warszawa
 Clasen L., Stanford E., 2015, Hiszpania, Wydawnictwo Zapolex, Toruń
 De Villiers M. (red.), 2007, Majorka i Ibiza, Mediaprofit, Warszawa
 Grossegesse O., 1992, Kraj i Ludzie – Hiszpania, Wydawnictwo Videograf, Katowice
 Micuła G., 2004, Majorka, Minorka i Ibiza, Wiedza i Życie, Warszawa
 Siewak-Sojka Z. (red.), 2015, Majorka, Minorka i Ibiza, Wydawnictwo Pascal, Bielsko-Biała
 Zaręba D., 2009, Majorka, Minorka, Ibiza oraz Formentera, Wydawnictwo Bezdroża, Kraków

Kuchnia hiszpańska

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


A new Restaurant Technology Report from Toast uncovered significant areas of disconnect between restaurants and their guests.
More than 900 restaurant operators and 1,200 diners weighed in on restaurant technology, operations, and industry trends for the report. While the consensus is that restaurant technology is positive among both groups, they didn't see eye to eye on every feature.
So, what do restaurant-goers really value in the restaurant experience, and is your restaurant meeting their demands?
With a smartphone in more hands than ever before, mobile pay is consistently on the rise.
Last year, only 42 percent of diners admitted to ever using mobile pay at a restaurant. This year, it was found that 58 percent of diners use mobile pay or a restaurant's app sometimes or always when it is an option at restaurants.
Despite this growing demand for and adoption of mobile pay among restaurant-goers, restaurants have not embraced it at a similar speed. According to the report, only 22 percent of restaurants offer mobile pay.
Mobile pay is tied with numerous benefits for restaurant owners, such as efficient cashless payments and integration with loyalty programs. In 2018, the usage of mobile pay (and therefore the need for it) will likely increase. Restaurants should be prepared to upgrade their tech or potentially isolate phone-addicted guests.
Another relative newbie to the restaurant technology sphere, restaurant kiosks are divisive among diners themselves. 49 percent of diners agree that kiosks improve their dining experience, while 51 percent disagree.
Restaurants are slightly more aligned on this topic. 61 percent of operators say kiosks do not improve their efficiency.
Kiosks, however, are being looked at by bigger players in the industry as an investment. 2017 saw restaurants like Wendy's and Shake Shake implement the self-order technology and it's not hard to see why. Despite indifference toward kiosks among the general population, the report found that 54 percent of those under age 40 say kiosks improve their dining experience.
Restaurants appealing to millennials and gen Z – particularly those in the quickserve segment – shouldn't be dismissing kiosks so quickly when considering a tech upgrade.
Diners and operators agree that guest wifi, loyalty, and online ordering are important to the dining experience. However, one disconnect on technology was the need for gift cards and online reservations.
Gift cards were identified as one of the most important restaurant technologies by operators (probably because gift card spend can be an average of 72 percent higher than non-gift card purchases).
Guests, however, named online reservations the feature they value most in a restaurant, though restaurants did not agree.
Features like online reservations, mobile pay, and kiosk ordering put the experience in guests hands and restaurant should be equipped to relinquish control in some areas moving forward.
Despite not being on the same page in many areas, diners and restaurateurs agree that restaurant technology is beneficial. 73 percent of diners say technology improves their dining experience, while 95 percent of restaurants say it helps their business efficiency.
For all the results and insights, download the full Restaurant Technology in 2017 Report here.
AJ Beltis is a Content Marketing Specialist for Toast, Inc., a restaurant management system based in Boston.


text:
Finished off The Dramatist by Ken Bruen last night. I knew what was coming with the sucker punch, it had been well signposted, but it still took all the air out of me. Not one to finish at gone midnight if you want to sleep soundly. If I was Jack Taylor I'd lose myself in drink.
Review of Pariah by Dave Zeltserman
Review of Anarchy and Old Dogs by Colin Cotterill
When it flows, it pours
Labels: Ken Bruen, The Dramatist
I starting writing a new novel, Stiffed, on the 25th June. I came across a nice quote – 'Friends help you move ... true friends help you move bodies' – and I thought, I can do something with that. Since then I've been hammering away at the keyboard and this afternoon - 68,850 words later – I reached the end. I haven't read it through yet, but I enjoyed the writing so much that I'm reasonably hopeful that it's not half bad. I'm actually looking forward to reading it through! Sometimes things just click. I've experienced this a few times with my academic writing, but not with the fiction. A great feeling for now (and hopefully the same once I've read through the whole thing from start to end). Off to get a beer (or several).
Review of Anarchy and Old Dogs by Colin Cotterill (Quercus, 2007)
When an old blind man is mowed down by a runaway truck his corpse ends up on the mortuary table of Dr Siri, the elderly national coroner of the newly independent Laos. In the blind man's pocket is an envelope containing a blank sheet of paper. Drawing on his love of Inspector Maigret, Dr Siri reveals an invisible coded message and with his friends cracks the code. What is revealed sends him to the south of the country where royalist sympathisers who wish to overthrow the new regime are still plentiful. There he tries to uncover a dangerous plot and investigates the death of a small child found floating in the River Meekong.
The real strengths of Colin Cotterill's Dr Siri series are the colourful set of characters, the light and witty prose, and a wonderfully rich sense of place and history. Through the narrative he engages with weighty matters such as nationalism, socialism and familial relationships, without them dominating the story in some overloaded ideological manner. They're a delight to read. Anarchy and Old Dogs is the fourth book in the series. Whilst the plot was interesting, I felt that it unfolded in a relatively straightforward manner, lacked some twists and turns, and the mystical elements used to good effect in the other stories was underplayed. There was also a sense that the book was doing a lot of work for the next book in the series, moving new characters and scenarios into place. As a result, it felt like a transition book, rather than having a fully rounded story of its own. For me, that meant it was an enjoyable read, but one that didn't quite fulfil its promise. Regardless, it and the whole Dr Siri series is well worth checking out as no doubt is Cotterill's new series, the first book of which has just been published.
Labels: Anarchy and Old Dogs, Colin Cotterill, Review
A few days ago Declan Burke put up an interesting post about Dennis Lehane in which he also discussed his own motivations for wanting to become a writer and the kind of writer he wanted to be. He listed off a few reasons:
"I guess every writer has his or her own motive for writing. Some want to be the best prose stylist ever read. Others want to tell stories. Some get into it to make their fortune. Some just want to be famous, rich or otherwise. And on it goes. When I was 17, my ambition was to write books that other writers liked."
Like Declan, at 17 I also wanted to be a writer. And whereas he went into journalism to maintain and nurture his writing ambitions, I went into academia. Both are publish or perish careers. For the past fifteen years I've told colleagues that my aim was to leave academia by the time I was forty to become a fulltime fiction writer - not because I wanted fame and fortune, but so that I had the time and space to pursue a passion. Given I'm forty one in a week or so, this clearly isn't going to happen! And that's fine. I love writing the academic stuff as well, though I could easily live without the admin and the other pressures of the job.
As for ambition with respect to my fiction writing, I wanted to write books that I would want to read. It's that plain and simple. I guess I figured that if enjoyed the book, then other people might as well, but I was most definitely the target audience. I got distracted along the way when early efforts found no favour with agents and publishers, but I'm now back in that space. And I've never enjoyed writing as much. I'm having a hoot writing the latest one. It's a book I would definitely read as a reader. And that's as much as I hope for. Now back to it.
Labels: motivations
Review of Pariah by Dave Zeltserman (Serpent's Tail, 2009)
Kyle Nevin has just been released after serving eight years for armed robbery, sold out to the FBI by Red Mahoney, the boss of South Boston Irish Mob. Nevin used to be Mahoney's right hand man, the enforcer who did his bosses bidding, whether than be breaking arms and legs, intimidating local businesses or robbing banks. Nevin only has one thing on his mind – to raise enough funds that he can go after Mahoney – and nothing is going to distract him from the task. His first job is to rescue his younger brother from going straight, then carry out a job that will net millions. If that means leaving a trail of destruction in his wake, so be it.
If you like dark, gritty noir realism, then you need to read Dave Zeltserman's books. The first person narratives of his prison release trilogy drop you into the world of troubled men and paint extraordinary rich characters. Pariah is no different. Kyle Nevin is driven by a grim determination to rule by fear and to seek whatever he desires by any means except those legitimate. He professes to have a moral code of sorts – sticking by family and brothers in arms – but everyone else is fair game. Ultimately though he's fighting a battle of himself against the world and he's prepared to do anything to make sure the world loses. At times, the feeling of realism in Zeltserman's writing is disturbing, especially in the first half of the book. The second half felt a little rushed at times, with a few key events a little underdeveloped, taking up very little of the narrative and quickly moving on. The twist at the end was clever, but felt a tad contrived. I also felt that the whole Whitey Bulger riff was a bit tired, explored in other books such as Adrian McKinty's Bloomsbury set and Richard Marinick's Boyos, and no doubt others. As a result, in my view, Pariah was a good read, but not quite on the same par as the other two books in the prison release trilogy: Small Crimes and Killer. Given how stellar those two books are that's no great criticism. To repeat: if you like noir read Zeltserman, you won't be disappointed.
Labels: Dave Zeltserman, Pariah, Review
Based on the book by Eduardo Sacheri (to be released in English translation in October according to Amazon), The Secret in Their Eyes won an Oscar last year for the best foreign film. It spans a twenty five year period from 1974, tracking the investigation and legacy of the rape and murder of Liliana Coloto in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Seemingly resolved, the case was stifled by corruption and dirty politics. It's told in a series of flash backs by a retired legal counsellor who has decided to spend his free time writing a novel based on the case. At the heart of the film is passion, obsession and loss - the counsellor unable or unwilling to realise his love for his well-connected boss, the dead woman's husband unable to let his love go. The film is the second highest grossing movie of all-time in Argentina, and has won a load of prizes. The acting and cinematography is excellent. It's a little slow moving at first, but it slowly builds as layers of meaning are woven in. Worth a viewing.
Labels: The Secret in Their Eyes
I'm still trying to get my head around the bomb and shootings in Norway. The events have a slightly unreal feeling to it given the location and the numbers of dead. My definition of unreality here is anything where if you wrote it as a story people would tell you it was too fantastical, that there's no way that the event could have unfolded as it did. I think this is especially the case with the deaths on the island, where so many were killed. The sheer scale and horror just seems beyond comprehension, especially when the motive and intent are so unclear. As with everyone else, my sympathies go out to the affected families.
Absolutely cool
Review of Headbanger by Hugo Hamilton
Review of Crime Always Pays by Declan Burke
Review of Borkmann's Point by Hakan Nesser
Review of Borkmann's Point by Hakan Nesser (Swedish 1994, Pan, 2006)
Chief Inspector Van Veeteren is on holiday in a seaside cottage when he gets a phone call asking him to investigate a murder committed a few miles away. A man has been slain with an axe. It's the second such murder in the space of a couple of months. The local investigative team have made little progress on the first and it's time for some outside help. There appear to be very few clues, with no links between the victims and little progress is made. Then another murder is committed. Local detective Beate Moerk is determined to solve the case and make a name for herself. Then she disappears. It seems she might have reached Borkmann's point – the stage in an investigation where no more clues are needed to solve the case – before the others. And in doing so attracted the attention of the killer.
The strengths of Borkmann's Point is the pacing, atmosphere and everydayness of the narrative. The storytelling has a nice cadence and doesn't seek to shock or ratchet up the tension too early. Instead we're gradually introduced to the characters and the investigation, slowly building up a picture of the police officers, their lives and ambitions, and patiently working towards a resolution. The plot is fine, although I'd reached Borkmann's point in terms of identifying the killer very early in the novel; pretty much off the first clue. I certainly didn't know with any certainty, but for some reason I just had a gut instinct that solidified as the story progressed. It's a solution I've come across in other police procedurals and it seemed to fit. As a result, a great deal of the edge was taken out of the read, and this might not be the case for other readers. Overall, a pleasant enough read and I'd try other Nesser books, but fairly standard police procedural fare.
Labels: Borkmann's Point, Hakan Nesser, Review
I watched the Australian movie Animal Kingdom last night. The story focuses on a criminal family in Melbourne presided over by a matriarch. After his mother dies of a heroin overdose, she takes in her grandson, who is roped into helping his uncles out. When the family and police come to loggerheads, the grandson is caught in the middle, being courted by the police to turn state's evidence. There was something rather unsettling about the movie. I've been trying to put my finger on it. I think it was because it was almost made like a documentary, though with very strong cinematography and no voice over. It didn't try and put a glamorous spin on crime or the law. Rather it focused on the familial relationships, background pressure, paranoia, jealousy, manipulation, corruption and conflicting choices. The soundtrack and the lingering shots on everyday objects and cast members added to the whole ambience. Very subtly the tension builds, despite there being very few action sequences. An oddly compelling story, based very loosely on the notorious Pettingill family. Worth a look. Trailer below.
Labels: Animal Kingdom
In the aftermath of a kidnapping insurance scam, Frank is in hospital with a shattered leg, the crimimally insane Rossi is having his ear tended to by a vet whilst being watched over by his narcoleptic friend Sleeps , Anna the wolf is regretting not ripping Rossi's whole head clean off, Anna's owner Karen is looking to skip the country with the money and the reluctant thief Ray, Doyle the cop assigned to the case is suspended but still wants justice, Madge the kidnap victim is looking forward to a nice Mediterranean cruise with Terry, the guy who set up the scam, and Melody a porn script writer is looking to spread her wings and pen a full length decent crime movie script. Karen and Ray are heading to Greece to meet up with Madge to split the proceeds, but where the money goes, everybody follows, all desperate to get their hands on the cash and each other.
I've been trying to decide how to describe Crime Always Pays. I guess it's a screwball, crime caper, road trip noir. And very well done it is too. Burke weaves a tale that does not rest, with the action starting on the first page and not letting up until the final sentence. The story follows the intersecting trajectories of two handfuls of well penned, memorable characters as they set out from Ireland to the Greek island of Ios, swirling round each other trying to bag the proceeds of an insurance scam and each other. Laced with a big dollop of humour, there are bluffs, backstabbings, double crosses, and twists and turns galore. The story pretty much has it all – electric pace, good dialogue, tons of action, great characters (particular the double act of Rossi and Sleeps), clever plotting, and a strong sense of place. I had only had two issues really. The first is the extent to which someone who hadn't read The Big O would be able to follow what was going on. This is very much a sequel, starting immediately where the first book ends, and it is framed in that context. I suspect it might be fine, but my advice is to read The Big O first (you won't regret it). The second is the thread following Madge seemed a little underdeveloped and disconnected from the others. And I'm picking hairs here. If Burke's new book Absolute Zero Cool is as good as this then it'll be a cracker. Hopefully it'll catapult him to the kind of success he deserves.
P.S. this book is available for Kindle on Amazon for the criminally low price of 87 pence or $1.47. Talk about a bargain. Get buying and reading.
Labels: Crime Always Pays, Declan Burke, Review
Review of Headbanger by Hugo Hamilton (Secker and Warburg, 1996)
Garda Pat Coyne fancies himself as Dublin's Dirty Harry, the cop that's going to take the fight to the scum of the city and kick their asses. To his colleagues he's Mr Suicide, always taking things too far, putting himself and his colleagues in unnecessary danger. Coyne works out of Irishtown station, dealing with the underbelly of society – the beatings, muggings, suicides, rapes, riots, drunk and disorderlies. What Coyne really wants, however, is a shot a gangland boss, 'Drummer' Cunningham. Cunningham runs the city with ruthless efficiency. Fed up with Drummer evading justice with bravado and fancy lawyers, Coyne decides enough is enough. Coyne's justice will prevail, setting the two men on a collision course.
Headbanger is an in-depth character study of a cop teetering on the edge of madness, seemingly determined to careen down into its depths regardless of its consequences. Hamilton is good at capturing the small details of life, the nuances and foibles of folk and the spaces they inhabit. The characters, their relationships, and the sense of 1990s Dublin are well penned, and I thought the ending was very nicely done. Despite his eccentricities, Coyne and his work and home life are credible, and it's difficult not to build up an empathy for a troubled soul. For my taste the book is too much of a character study; I prefer more action and dialogue and less introspection. What is refreshing, however, is the focus on an ordinary cop, someone who hasn't gained rank or a position in an elite squad of some kind. Overall, an enjoyable slice of Dublin noir.
Labels: Headbanger, Hugo Hamilton, Review
I finished reading Declan Burke's absolutely cool Crime Always Pays last night. I'm hoping that his forthcoming new novel Absolutely Zero Cool, published by Liberties Press in early August, will demonstrate that crime does pay. Declan's blog Crime Always Pays is the must read site for news on Irish crime writing and reviews, and his edited anthology Down These Green Streets provides a fascinating set of essays on Irish crime fiction. The guy knows his crime fiction and it shows in his own stories. Expect my review of Crime Always Pays later this week. In the meantime, here's two blurbs for Absolute Zero Cool.
Blurb 1:
Who in their right mind would want to blow up a hospital?
"Close it down, blow it up – what's the difference?"
Billy Karlsson needs to get real. Literally. A hospital porter with a sideline in euthanasia, Billy is a character trapped in the purgatory of an abandoned novel. Deranged by logic, driven beyond sanity, Billy makes his final stand: if killing old people won't cut the mustard, the whole hospital will have to go up in flames.
Only his creator can stop him now, the author who abandoned Billy to his half-life limbo, in which Billy schemes to do whatever it takes to get himself published, or be damned . . .
Absolute Zero Cool is a post-modern take on the crime thriller genre. Adrift in the half-life limbo of an unpublished novel, hospital porter Billy needs to up the stakes. Euthanasia simply isn't shocking anymore; would blowing up his hospital be enough to see Billy published, or be damned? What follows is a gripping tale that subverts the crime genre's grand tradition of liberal sadism, a novel that both excites and disturbs in equal measure. Absolute Zero Cool is not only an example of Irish crime writing at its best; it is an innovative, self-reflexive piece that turns every convention of crime fiction on its head. Declan Burke's latest book is an imaginative story that explores the human mind's ability to both create and destroy, with equally devastating effects.
Between them those have got me whetting my lips. Postmodern literary noir. Sounds like Duane Swierczynski territory a la Secret Dead Men. Which is the kind of territory I love.
Labels: Absolutely Zero Cool, Declan Burke
Finished reading Headbanger by Hugo Hamilton on Friday. It's an interesting piece of crime fiction because it's an in-depth character study of a beat copper, one that is slowly going mad at how the system fails to adequate deal with everyday criminal acts and administer justice. Most crime novels that have police lead characters tend to focus on elite team members or high profile crimes. I'd be interested in recommendations of other stories that focus more on the routine side of policing. Suggestions?
Turning two
Review of Fun and Games by Duane Swierczynski
Wifiless in London
Holiday reading
I'm taking the next two weeks off of work. Staycation. Going to work on the new novel, mess around with the dogs and read a few books. I've seven plucked from the pile. Expect reviews in dribs and drabs.
Wifi-less in London
Just got back from a short trip to London. I stayed in a city centre hotel in Bloomsbury which cost 340 euros for two nights. The room was not ensuite, with the bathroom down the end of the corridor. There was no wifi or internet access, except for a terminal in the lobby which you had to pay for (3 pounds for 15 minutes). The conference venue also had no wifi access. I didn't find a free wifi hotspot anywhere. Having the bathroom at the end of the corridor was fine. Having limited access to the internet was a pain (and I used my precious 15 minute slot on the lobby machine to access work email). I'd have thought in a global city like London that every hotel in the city centre would have wifi access. And it should be free. At this stage, internet access is a public utility, like water and electricity. In one way it was nice to be cut off, but in another it was a real nuisance, especially when so much of my work is done through email. Anyway, that's the reason for the silence.
Review of Fun and Games by Duane Swierczynski (Mulholland, 2011)
Charlie Hardie used to be an off-the-record security consultant to the Philadelphia police. Then three years ago a case he was working on went badly wrong. Now Charlie house sits for the rich and famous, drinking booze and watching old movies whilst making sure the house stays in one piece whilst their owners are on holiday or film location. His latest assignment is to guard the house of a composer. Only when he turns up there's a D-list actress hiding out in the house who claims she is being hunted by professional hitmen – the Accident People. Charlie decides she's whacko, but then strange things start to happen and it soon becomes apparent they are under siege. The only way out seems to be in a body bag unless they can find a way to survive.
The premise of Fun and Games is a great one – that for a price there are a bunch of Hollywood directors who script 'accidents', creating deaths which are accompanied by a plausible narrative. The accidents are then played out by a group of unscrupulous actors and professional hitmen using a van load of tricks. For me this was a book of two halves. In the first half, the book felt like this was Swierczynski's attempt to cross-over into the mainstream. It lacked the edge and other-worldliness of his other novels. There was also a huge over use of the character's name, with Hardie appearing dozens of times on each page. Once I started to read 'he' instead it read more fluidly. The second half felt much more like a Swierczynski story – bold, brash and adrenaline filled action. At the start of one of the chapters an Alfred Hitchcock quote is used: 'A far-fetched story must be plausibly told, so your nonsense isn't showing.' Swierczynski normally excels at this, especially in Secret Dead Men and Expiration Date, but a little too often in Fun and Games there is slippage, especially with Hardie's seemingly super-human qualities – the man will simply not die! – and the contrived set up of some scenes. That said, this is an enjoyable romp which works off a convincingly pitched premise – it would also make a great movie or TV series.
Labels: Duane Swierczynski, Fun and Games, Review
The View From the Blue House is two years old today. Over the past two years I've reviewed 213 books, a fairly respectable number I think given everything else going on. I've only reviewed one book so far this month however and I'll stick up another tomorrow before I head to London. Been a slow month of reading as I work on two books - a new novel and a dictionary. Going through a purple patch of writing which is a great feeling.
Posted by Rob Kitchin at 4:28 PM 10 comments:
Off the London later this week to give a keynote talk at an Information Visualization conference. I'm not sure they're going to get what they think they're getting, which is probably Atlas of Cyberspace kind of stuff. Although I do use info visualisation quite a bit in my work, my theoretical interest is concerned with the philosophy of cartography, not on the technical aspects of producing visualizations. I suspect that most information visualization researchers couldn't give a monkeys about the wider philosophy of science, instead trying to create more effective means of revealing and communicating information. Of course, the two are not unrelated, but its rare enough that they're worked through in relation to each other. Should be interesting to see what they make of what I've got to say. Not a lot probably.
Most posts this week:
Half yearly report
Housing vacancy 1991-2011 in the Upper Shannon Renewal Scheme
Review of 1974 by David Peace
Nice things in the post
The postman bought a nice offering this week - Louie Knight's latest case in Malcolm Pryce's The Day Aberystwyth Stood Still.
From the backcover:
It is May in Aberystwyth, and the mayoral election campaign - culminating in the traditional boxing match between candidates - is underway. Sospan the ice-cream seller waits in his hut for souls brave enough to try his latest mind-expanding new flavour, and Louie Knight, Aberystwyth's only Private Detective, receives a visit from a mysterious stranger called Raspiwtin asking him to track down a dead man. Twenty-five years ago Iestyn Probert was hanged for his part in the notorious raid on the Coliseum cinema, but shortly afterwards he was seen, apparently alive and well, boarding a bus to Aberaeron. Did he miraculously evade the hangman's noose? Or could there really be substance to the rumours that he was resuscitated by aliens? Now, as strange lights are spotted in the sky above Aberystwyth and a farmer claims to have had a close encounter with a lustful extraterrestrial, Iestyn Probert has been sighted once again. But what does Raspiwtin want with him? And why does Louie's investigation arouse unwelcome interest from a shadowy government body and a dark-suited man in a black 1947 Buick?
Sounds like a cracker.
Labels: Malcolm Pryce, The Day Aberystwyth Stood Still.
Review of 1974 by David Peace (Serpent's Tail, 1999)
Eddie Dunford has moved back to north to the Leeds of his youth, working as the north of England correspondent for the Post. On the morning of his father's funeral he is attending the press conference concerning the disappearance of a local school girl, Clare Kemplay. For Dunford this is an opportunity to establish himself at the paper and come out from under the shadow of Jack Whitehead, the paper's award winning crime writer. His growing obsession, however, soon moves him from an interested observer into an active participant, a pawn in a much larger game of local business interests, politics and police corruption. The more he seeks out the truth, the further he descends into underworld, and others start to pay for the consequences of his actions.
Maxine from Petrona describes reading 1974 as like reading a scream. I know exactly where she's coming from. Peace's narrative is intense, visceral, gritty, dark, unrelenting and unsettling. It is very tightly written and through the flair and style of the prose, the contextual framing, and the palpable sense of realism, it produces a powerful affective response from the first page. If anyone is looking for the ultimate noir, then 1974 must be near the top of the pile. The story is a long way from horror, and none of the scenes are particularly horrific, but I nevertheless found it a difficult read at times, simultaneously feeling senses of compulsion and revulsion. It's one of those strange books or movies that draws you in at the same time as pushing you away. I read it in several sittings and found it emotionally draining. The end unravels a little, becoming a bit disjointed (much like the main character). Nevertheless 1974 is a brilliant piece of writing, but it's not for the faint hearted.
Labels: 1974, David Peace, Review
Rather than writing reviews I've been busy writing dictionary entries. I now have my assigned entries for the letter A drafted for the forthcoming Oxford Dictionary of Human Geography. Been an interesting exercise so far. The entries are pretty disparate. I wrote an entry today on 'affect' immediately followed by one on 'agent-based models', which is about as far apart in human geography conceptually and methodologically as one can get. 25 letters and 670 odd entries to go. The plan is to draft 200 over the summer.
So far I've read and reviewed 52 books this year. Six were classed as 5 star reviews and seven as 4.5 stars. I'd recommend all of them. As for my book of the year so far, I'm mulling that over. Probably Field Grey shades it. The Deputy and Caught Stealing would make great movies, The Rage good TV. Secret Dead Men is the most thought provoking in a head wrecking kind of way. Ghost Mountain Boys, the only non-fiction on this list, makes you wonder about the follies of people and the strength of human spirit.
The Rage by Gene Kerrigan
The Deputy by Victor Gischler
Caught Stealing by Charlie Huston
Ghost Mountain Boys by James Campbell
Secret Dead Men by Duane Swierczynski
Field Grey by Philip Kerr
Mercy by Jussi Adler-Olsen
The Brush Off by Shane Maloney
The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson
The Main by Trevanian
A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn
Devil Red by Joe Lansdale
A Stone of the Heart by John Brady
The first results of Census 2011 were released in Ireland this week. It showed that about 100,000 additional people were living in Ireland than was expected. In fact the population grew by 341,421 between 2006 and 2011 (8.1%). This was most due to strong natural increase with a high rate of births (the highest in Europe) and a low death rate, with emigration not occurring to the same extent as people thought (in fact, 118K more people move to the country than left). Since 1991 the population has grown by more than a million people to 4.5m, a whopping 29.9% increase. The figure though that I had been waiting for somewhat nervously was the housing vacancy rate. Based on our research the media had reported back in January 2010 that the vacancy rate for the country was 300,000. A number that became synonymous with the property crash. We were roundly criticised by the construction and property sector for that assessment and have spend much of the last 18 months debating with them the level of vacant stock. The Census reported that there were 294,202 vacant units that were habitable. Thankfully for us, but not for the country, we were just about right. Phew! The map above is vacancy by ED, with blue areas having over 20% vacancy.
Review of White Death by Tobias Jones
Reading a scream
Old book, new format
Review From Aberystwyth With Love by Malcolm Pryce
2011 Census housing vacancy data
Geographic variation in housing vacancy 2011
A pretty mixed month of reading. I'm surprised I posted nine reviews as it didn't seem like a nine book month. Three books stood out - Mercy by Jussi Adler-Olsen, The Rage by Gene Kerrigan and The Deputy by Victor Gischler. The one that was a head clear for me was The Deputy, a fine slice of country noir; short but sweet.
From Aberystwyth With Love by Malcolm Pryce ****
White Death by Tobias Jones ***.5
The Fatal Touch by Conor Fitzgerald ***.5
Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly **.5
The Rage by Gene Kerrigan *****
The Deputy by Victor Gischler *****
The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam by Chris Ewan ****
Plugged by Eoin Colfer ****
Mercy by Jussi Adler-Olsen ****.5
Labels: June Reviews
Review of Anarchy and Old Dogs by Colin Cotterill ...
Review of Pariah by Dave Zeltserman (Serpent's Tai...
Review of Borkmann's Point by Hakan Nesser (Swedi...
Review of Headbanger by Hugo Hamilton (Secker and ...
Review of Fun and Games by Duane Swierczynski (Mul...


Sharing my thoughts about this battle….
Home › The Candida Forum › Candida Questions › Sharing my thoughts about this battle….
orka1998 6 years, 2 months ago.
You know, it has been 2 years since I first *tasted* what it was like to feel health: my memory worked, I didn't have pain, I could sleep, and I felt joy. Since that time I have been through the ups and downs of trying to get there again. The road is long, filled with many self-afflicted detours.
Candida, damages the physical and mental; really the soul of those afflicted. I've been through much, depression, arthritic pain, stomach problems, brain fog, the enduring question: IS IT WORTH IT?! But, just as I remind myself … and my girlfriend … and myself once again. IT IS.
I am thankful there are others out there fighting this so we can feel HEALTHY and make a difference in our own unique way.
Hi, Mrs. Candida. LOL, never thought I'd speak to Candida directly!
Well, after 6 months of a very strict diet a couple years ago, working with doctors, taking antifungals I started feeling wonderful. At the same time the pressure to "relax" and eat like everyone else and my own food "addictions" krept in and I relapsed. Very quickly my brain fog set in… memory gone, muscle/joint pain came roaring back — It was like for the first time in my life (yes, I believe I have had a problem with Candida since childhood) I could SEE, like I was in a room FULL of bright lights and then just like that the room was almost nearly dark.
Since then, I have cycled through the diet/antifungals, then cheated, and restarted this cycle … all while learning what foods I am intolerant to and appreciating how susceptible I am to overgrowth.
Really it has been a process of accepting… to know for me that I HAVE TO LIVE THE REST OF MY LIFE THIS WAY if I want to truly live.
Hope that answers your question, let me know?
The topic 'Sharing my thoughts about this battle….' is closed to new replies.


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