Sam Fong Brooks. Born 1986. Yoga teacher and personal trainer.
I started yoga during a surf trip along the east coast of South Africa. There was a big wave surfer on a surf documentary practicing Ashtanga and I thought; if it works for this guy who is paddling into giant waves, then there has to be something in it. This was simply the beginning of the asana practice. It could be argued that I started yoga at the age of 13 as that was the start of my interest in meditation.
My main practice is dynamic Hatha or what some would likely deem as a slow flow. Other practices include Ashtanga and Yin.
The asana practice has healed my body while the daily meditation practice has created a connection with my body and mind that had become rather absent. I should add at this point that the asana practice started in 2008, though was very on and off until about 4 years ago.
It has helped me to be more in touch with my emotional and psychological experiences. Living with anxiety and depression, it has allowed me to come to terms with these emotions - noticing them and taking care of myself when they arise.
There are many, though currently it would be the weekend in Edinburgh with Dylan Werner. There was such a great deal of knowledge shared, it challenged me on a psychological level as both a teacher and student. Poses were achieved that I had been working on for a considerable time. Bursting into tears on my mat after a deep hip practice, an unlocking of pure emotion in the most positive way; it is memorable as through self medication my emotional experience had become somewhat limited.
A great teacher is present and continually a student; understanding that we learn from those we share our knowledge with.
Kurmasana - turtle. A pose in which I feel truly present and is a reminder of how far my body has come from the bag of knots it used to be. There can be no rushing, it only comes when the body is ready.
I do a variety of things, though to keep the list to what I am prioritising: climbing, learning Sanskrit, hanging with my dog, creating tasty food, drawing and woodwork.
I would like to a farmer later on in life, growing and maintaining heritage varieties.
It's a tough toss up between a manatee and a dolphin.
Benicio Del Toro - from an appearance point of view, I believe he is pretty close. His ability to play both light and dark roles is fantastic, and the various roles he has played would lend kindly to some of the more twisted aspects.
Not having someone to share the beauty of life. The ups and downs - warts and all.
I'd love to see the dinosaurs.
To bring balance to an ever increasing life of excess. To actually spend some time going inwards rather than spending all our time seeking outside of ourselves provides some powerful healing and understanding.
In mythology, the first yoga student was a fish.


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text:
McGraw-Hill Education's David Stafford Believes Comfort is Overrated
On his complicated path to the top at McGraw-Hill Education, David Stafford has faced his challenges head on
By	Jeff Silver
Late on New Year's Eve in 1987, David Stafford toiled away in a conference room as part of a team that was working on a multibillion dollar corporate acquisition. He was busy tackling the never-ending due-diligence and transactional chores faced by every first-year law firm associate. It was a far cry from the career he had envisioned that would allow him to leverage his critical-thinking skills to develop creative and strategic analysis and provide counsel in a commercial setting. So, soon after, on a whim, he responded to a newspaper ad for a corporate and intellectual property attorney at McGraw-Hill. The decision marked the beginning of an unorthodox career path.
"I ended up being the runner-up for the job," Stafford says. "But, two months later, I was contacted about a new position with the Standard & Poor's [S&P] Information Group [a subsidiary of McGraw-Hill] that turned out to be a better position than the one to which I originally applied."
David Stafford, SVP and General Counsel, McGraw-Hill Education Photo by Larry Lettera
He became the S&P Information Group's first on-site attorney, and his stature and responsibilities grew immediately. Still in his twenties, he went from pushing paper at his former law firm to sitting at the table with senior executives of a complex global business with hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.
Among other responsibilities, Stafford supported S&P's licensing of its indices to sponsors of financial products. And, with support from outside counsel, he helped lay the legal foundation for index owners being entitled to license fees for the use of their IP. He emerged as a key driver of S&P's index business. Today, this aspect of S&P's business generates approximately $700 million in annual revenue. He came to be perceived by the business executives as a valuable partner who could be looked at for both legal and commercial advice, and it didn't hurt that he was well-liked and was comfortable in social situations with his colleagues.
Stafford's success garnered the attention of McGraw-Hill, and in 1996 he was asked to join the parent company's legal team. He took advantage of the opportunity to expand his areas of expertise and eagerly immersed himself in M&A, antitrust analysis, IP, employment matters, and corporate governance. Through the work, he became one of five young McGraw-Hill executives selected to participate in the Global Leadership 2020 program, run by the Tuck Business School at Dartmouth. Stafford attended one-week executive training programs at Tuck, at Oxford University, and in the city Shanghai. "My selection to participate in the program made me aware of the investment the company was making in me and how seriously it was taking my growth potential," Stafford says.
The five years after that were characterized by slow movement through the ranks and assurances that Stafford had emerged as a leading candidate to succeed the existing general counsel when he retired. However, this period turned out to be a prelude to an unexpected career twist: Stafford was offered the position of senior vice president of corporate affairs and assistant to the chairman and CEO, Terry McGraw. This nonlegal role involved oversight of corporate affairs, including communications, marketing, government relations, and corporate philanthropy, plus ongoing work with the company's board of directors.
"I was in a very comfortable environment in the legal department, but I decided to accept a stretch position and found myself in unfamiliar territory as chief of staff to Mr. McGraw, who was a high-profile CEO," Stafford says. "It was a huge career shift with an unknown outcome."
The move took Stafford from the confines of the legal department directly into the upper tier of the C-suite at a multibillion-dollar public company. It came with a huge office, with a fifteen-foot ceiling, fireplaces, dark paneling, and a view of Rockefeller Center. It also raised his profile by associating him with the company's largest and most challenging issues.
However, it also unexpectedly put him in the middle of the intensely negative attention the company received thereafter as the US financial crisis hit. The company's S&P Ratings unit was accused of helping precipitate the crisis by assigning high ratings to a variety of mortgage-backed securities that were impacted by an unprecedented crash in housing prices. The company's stock price plummeted. Relationships with the board of directors became more difficult. The stress level was high. Stafford ultimately left the chief of staff position, succeeded by someone with more experience in crisis management and communications, and he returned to the legal department.
In a final twist, when McGraw-Hill Education was sold to a private equity firm, in 2013, at the urging of Mr. McGraw, Stafford was offered his current position of general counsel—a challenge he immediately accepted. Stafford subsequently built a new legal department from scratch and has emerged as a highly respected leader on the senior management team. "I enjoy my role as general counsel of a multibillion-dollar education company immensely," he says. "Our company is in an industry that helps people learn and reach their full potential, and I enjoy close and supportive relationships with my team and my colleagues."
Looking back on his many roles, Stafford advises young lawyers to expect twists and turns and not to think their careers will play out exactly as they envision. "Expect the unexpected," he says. He also tells them that when they face pivotal decisions, they should challenge themselves and not always take the safe road.
"By taking calculated risks, you develop your capabilities and your relationships, personally and professionally, and facilitate personal growth" Stafford says. "Deciding to jump into the deep end of the pool even before I could swim particularly well has given back more than I could possibly have imagined."
Patterson Belknap:
"We at Patterson Belknap are very proud of our long partnership with David Stafford and McGraw-Hill Education. We celebrate David and the entire MHE legal team for this well-deserved recognition."
—Saul B. Shapiro, Chair of Patterson Belknap's Litigation Department
Proskauer Rose LLP:
"David embodies the qualities of an outstanding leader and a highly effective general counsel. He is able to solve complex legal and business issues, and he motivates his team to always do their best work."
—Elise Bloom, Partner and Greg Rasin, Partner

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Rate of convergence of Bayesian posterior Suppose a data generating process (DGP) is parameterized by some unknown parameter $\theta_0$, say $P_{\theta_0}$, and we want to estimate the value of $\theta_0$ using Bayesian method. Let $\pi(\theta)$ be the prior over the possible values of $\theta$, $\Theta$.
I understand that for almost all priors, if the data observed are iid, then the Bayesian posterior will eventually concentrate on $\theta_0$, as the number of observations ($n$) tends to infinity. (Correct me if I'm wrong.)
My question: Are there any results that predict differential rates of convergence of the posterior distribution based on different priors?
For example, suppose $\Theta=\{\theta_0,\theta_1\}$ and the DGP is $P_{\theta_0}$. Consider two priors on $\Theta$:
$$\pi_1(\theta_0)=0.2,\qquad \pi_1(\theta_1)=0.8$$ and $$\pi_2(\theta_0)=\pi_2(\theta_1)=0.5.$$ Are there any results that says the posterior based on $\pi_2$ converges faster than that based on $\pi_1$? (or the other way around?)
Intuitively I would expect the posterior based on $\pi_2$ to have faster convergence, as it is "closer" to $\theta_0$. But in my experience, intuition is hardly reliable when it comes to probability theory.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
{% extends "account/base.html" %}

{% load url from future %}
{% load i18n %}
{% load bootstrap %}

{% block head_title %}{% trans "Change Password" %}{% endblock %}

{% block content %}
    <h1>{% trans "Change Password" %}</h1>

    <form method="POST" action="{% url 'account_change_password' %}" class="password_change">
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Congress Mukt Bharat
Dynastic Parties
Hypocrisy of the Opposition
Mahagathbandhan
Mahamilawat Gathbandhan
Has the Congress Thrown its Hands up?
Posted on April 26, 2019, No Comments admin
Voting for the first three rounds of the elections covering the 303 Parliamentary seats is over. Besides Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir and some seats of Uttar Pradesh, the first three rounds were restricted to Eastern and Southern parts of India. The electoral battle now enters the Hindi heartland. In other parts of India, such as, North-East, Bengal and Odisha, the contest was between the regional parties and the BJP. The BJP appears to be making significant gains in the East. In the Southern States, Karnataka appears to be going the BJP way. With the regional parties dominating Andhra and Telangana, the Congress in both the States, and the TDP are staring at a washout. Most of the States where elections are to be held in future rounds, it is a direct contest between the Congress and the BJP. The Congress obviously is in no position to effectively take on the regional parties or the BJP. Therefore, the only issue in the future rounds is the width of the margin of victory of the BJP. Will it be a repeat of 2014 in terms of votes or will it be more? The euphoric reaction at the ground suggests a mandate larger than 2014. A 65% to 70% approval rating for an incumbent Prime Minister is unprecedented in India. It is reflecting in the groundswell.
The Congress in 2019
If we look at the run up to the poll and analyse some of the recent developments, an interesting situation develops. Some feature which stare us are enumerated below:
The Congress claims that it is now contesting in over 424 seats. This figure is likely to increase. Obviously, the Mahagathbandhan at a national level died before it was born.
Rahul Gandhi, in the last one year, built up a fake narrative on Rafale and loan waiver to business houses, which was contrary to the truth. The fake issues evaporated and now strike no chord in the electorate.
Having to apologise to the Supreme Court for false public narrative, significantly diminishes the credibility of a political leader. Rahul became a victim of his own falsehood.
The desperation reached a peak when he, without realising that Arvind Kejriwal was playing games with him, offered him four seats contrary to the advice of the State unit. He displayed the desperation of a loser.
Instead of sharing the nationalist mood in the country post Balakot, Rahul positioned his party against both the national interest and the national mood. He considered Balakot not a blow to Pakistan sponsored terrorism but to the Congress Party.
When the Kashmir parties take a position of soft separatism, the Congress has been unable to reveal either its stand or any opposition to it.
The desperation was at a climax when the Congress and the NCP had to outsource the job of attacking Prime Minister Modi to Raj Thackeray without realising the fallout of such a move in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and other North Indian States.
The Congress Party's Manifesto on national security was completely against the nationalistic mood in the country.
When Rahul had to seek cover at Wayanad and Priyanka had to skip Varanasi and feel satisfied not to contest because there was no Wayanad available to her.
The fatal blow
The 'New India' is a positive India. It does not accept the negativism of Rahul, Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee and TDP. The 'New India' wants to look up rather than be cynical and critical about their own country.
The Congress Party and Rahul Gandhi are 48 years behind the times. 2019 and 1971 are 48 years apart. India's social combination and economic profile has completely changed. The Congress is contesting the 2019 election on the 1971 agenda. It is not in tune with the times. The writing on the wall is loud and clear. Those who lived a life of entitlement all through, give up when office seems to be a distant dream.
Select Year 2019 (58) 2018 (47) 2017 (7) 2016 (11) 2015 (30) 2014 (163) 2013 (48)
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Local History Online — Thieves ruin NZ visit.
German tourist Sunitha Schindler lost her valuables when the car she was travelling in was taken from the West Wave Centre Carpark.
Portrait. Colour photograph of Sunitha Schindler.


text:
Compsobracon magnificus är en stekelart som först beskrevs av William Harris Ashmead 1889.  Compsobracon magnificus ingår i släktet Compsobracon och familjen bracksteklar. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Bracksteklar
magnificus

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Impact of nutrition education in improving dietary pattern during pregnancy based on pender's health promotion model: A randomized clinical trial
Masoomeh Goodarzi-Khoigani1, Mohammad Hossein Baghiani Moghadam2, Azadeh Nadjarzadeh3, Farahnaz Mardanian4, Hossein Fallahzadeh5, SeyedSaeed Mazloomy-Mahmoodabad6
1 Social Determinants of Health Research Center, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
2 Department of Health, Azad University of Firoozabad Branch, Fars, Iran
3 Nutrition and Food Security Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
4 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
5 Department of Statistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
6 Department of Health Education and Promotion, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
SeyedSaeed Mazloomy-Mahmoodabad
Department of Health Education and Promotion, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd
DOI: 10.4103/ijnmr.IJNMR_198_16
Background: Different types of nutrients in adequate amounts are required to meet the increased demands of the mother and the developing fetus. Therefore, we examined the impact of nutrition education on the number of food servings per day. Materials and Methods: Pregnant mothers were recruited to a prospective, randomized clinical trial from May to September, 2016. At 6–10 weeks of gestation, the participants were randomly divided into the intervention (n = 96) or the control group (n = 96), and were followed-up until the end of pregnancy. Each woman in the experimental group met the study nutritionist at the time of enrollment and an individualized nutrition plan was developed. In addition, the nutrition education based on Pender's Health Promotion Model (HPM) was designed, including three 45–60 min training sessions in 6–10, 18, and 26 weeks of pregnancy. The participants' usual food intake using a three-day dietary record was assessed at 6–10 weeks and 34–36 weeks of gestation. Results: The mean scores of the perceived benefits, self-efficacy, activity-related affect, interpersonal influences (husband support), and commitment to action increased while the competing demand scores decreased in the interventional group compared with the control group. The mean standard deviation (SD) of food portions from grain [10.40 (1.96) versus 12.70 (1.93) in the control group], vegetable [3.88 (1.33) versus 2.96 (0.91)], fruit [4.02 (0.05) versus 3.95 (0.91)], dairy [2.33 (0.68) versus 2.11 (0.45)], and meat [3.17 (0.68) versus 2.96 (0.67)] were improved in the experimental group. Conclusions: Pender's HPM for nutrition education is effective based on the compliance of pregnant women to the dietary guideline and the food guide pyramid.
Keywords: Diet modification, health promotion, Iran, pregnancy
Goodarzi-Khoigani M, Baghiani Moghadam MH, Nadjarzadeh A, Mardanian F, Fallahzadeh H, Mazloomy-Mahmoodabad S. Impact of nutrition education in improving dietary pattern during pregnancy based on pender's health promotion model: A randomized clinical trial. Iranian J Nursing Midwifery Res 2018;23:18-25
Goodarzi-Khoigani M, Baghiani Moghadam MH, Nadjarzadeh A, Mardanian F, Fallahzadeh H, Mazloomy-Mahmoodabad S. Impact of nutrition education in improving dietary pattern during pregnancy based on pender's health promotion model: A randomized clinical trial. Iranian J Nursing Midwifery Res [serial online] 2018 [cited 2023 Jan 30];23:18-25. Available from: https://www.ijnmrjournal.net/text.asp?2018/23/1/18/220957
The important role of nutrition in pregnancy is well recognized and has central implications on subsequent maternal and offspring health. When the intake is inappropriate or inadequate, the risk of preterm delivery and low birth weight is increased.[1],[2] On the contrary, women who gain too much weight during pregnancy are at risk of having larger babies and postpartum weight retention.[3] Therefore, nutrition education to promote sustainable healthy eating behaviors is a well-established intervention and the first five components of the healthy eating index during pregnancy are the average daily servings of five food groups.[4],[5] Nutrition education was positively associated with a higher intake of vegetables, fish and shellfish, and potatoes, and a lower intake of rice in a group of pregnant Japanese women, but it was not associated with intake of bread, noodles, confectioneries and sugars, fats and oils, pulses and nuts, meat, eggs, dairy products, or fruit.[6] In accordance to the aforementioned study and similar trials about nutrition education, a meta-analyses concluded that additional research grounded in appropriate theories of behavior change are needed to improve confidence in this field.[7] One of the models used in changing the nutritional behavior is Pender's Health Promotion Model (HPM); this is "an attempt to illustrate the multidimensional nature of individuals interacting with their interpersonal and physical environments as they pursue health." In addition, we chose this model to improve the average daily servings of the five food groups, which is practical during pregnancy and in the whole life; this model is not dependent on immediate threatening.[8] Recently, a lifestyle trial showed that motivational interview and HPM-based consultancy had a limited effect on developing dietary habits during pregnancy.[9] Other lifestyle interventions were efficient in developing diet habits among pregnant mothers.[10],[11] To our knowledge, the previously performed studies changed the dietary patterns for 2–3 months or in some other aspects, while the pregnant mothers needed to adhere to the food guide pyramid recommendations during pregnancy and by cost-effective interventions. Therefore, the present trial was undertaken to examine the effect of nutrition education intervention based on Pender's HPM in improving dietary patterns among pregnant mothers.
A prospective, randomized clinical trial (possessing the registration number IRCT2016012026129N1) was executed among 192 primiparous pregnant mothers in Isfahan, Iran, between May 2015 and September 2016. Considering a 5% significance level, at least 80% power, and a standard deviation of 7 for at least a 3 kg difference in gained weight between the two groups, 86 participants were computed for each group (an expected attrition rate of 10% during sampling was regarded). Therefore, 15 community health centers, 5 hospitals, and 15 private offices were selected. Pregnant women were medically prescreened by their healthcare provider and recruited for the intervention. The eligibility criteria included gestational age between 6 and 10 weeks, body mass index (BMI) <40 kg/m2, a history of no smoking, age 18 and older, Iranian by origin, and singleton pregnancy. Women with weight-related complications,[12] a history of diabetes (diabetes mellitus type 1 and type 2),[13] mental disease,[14] anemia, urinary tract complications, usage of a special regimen,[15] chronic disease, addiction [16] as well as the women who did not participate in all the classes because of medical or other reasons were excluded. Randomization occurred in consecutive order at the time of enrollment. In selected settings, responsible persons explained the study goals to the pregnant women who were medically prescreened by their healthcare provider and recruited for the intervention. After providing the written consent, the willing subjects who met the inclusion criteria were randomized by opening the next sealed envelope containing their assignment until the required sample size was achieved. Computer-generated codes were sealed in consecutively numbered opaque envelopes and concealed from the investigator by a responsible person who had no other involvement in the study. Participants attended their regularly scheduled visits with their prenatal care providers; meanwhile, women in the intervention received all aspects of prenatal care plus the present intervention. All of the aforementioned stages were performed by the first author. Midwives and physicians were blinded to the subject randomization and the educational content of the study to prevent contamination.
The demographic characteristics and Pender's HPM constructs were measured by means of a self-administered questionnaire elaborated by the study researchers. To develop the HPM items, we surveyed the related literature and the HPM manual, and interviewed 21 pregnant mothers to collect their opinions concerning nutrition education. They expressed their opinions on the simplicity, clarity, and readability of the items of the instrument. The face validity of questionnaire was confirmed by 10 experts of health education, nutrition, and obstetrics. For improving clarity of the scale, unclear questions and minor wording errors were changed.[17] The content validity of the questionnaire was tested by a panel of 10 experts in the aforementioned fields and the comments of the experts were used to modify each question. The content validity ratio of the instrument as a whole was 0.73, and according to the Lawshe table, this ratio was considered acceptable. The content validity index of the total scale was 0.89; this was acceptable. The reliability of questionnaire was calculated through internal homogeneity and Cronbach's alpha, and the values of these coefficients for every structure (each construct) were calculated. A correlation coefficient ≥0.61 was also considered to be satisfactory.
Benefits such as improved maternal and child health outcome, good looks, and cost-effectiveness were considered in the seven items. Cronbach's α was 0.78. The participants agreed with the positive effects of the interventional program on the outcome of pregnancy and the prevention of obesity. Most of them, however, did not know that healthy eating can cause the childhood well-being of their fetuses. Eight questions about limited time, the absence of enjoyability, tiredness, hunger, obedience with family members' tastes, unsuccessful experience of dietary advices, and Pica-evaluated perceived barriers, which were effective in about 30% on the basis of pretest results (Cronbach's α = 0.80), were asked. Perceived self-efficacy questions involving the following of the food pyramid, eating healthy foods, and considering orders in different places and conditions were asked in seven items. The average of the mothers' scores was about 65 and Cronbach's α was 0.82. Positive feelings such as happiness, success, well-being of the mother and the fetus were included in four questions and negative feeling such as depression was evaluated in one question (Cronbach's α = 0.84). Around 80% of the subjects were in agreement with the positive effect of healthy eating and 20% of the subjects demonstrated a negative feeling. Three categories of questions including the persons who help and encourage the pregnant mother to obey the recommended points were used to measure interpersonal influences (including 10 items for husbands, 4 items for friends, and 8 items for families). A question, for example, was "Does your husband help you find healthy foods?" Cronbach's α for husband and family supports were 0.90 and 0.92, respectively. Husbands, mothers, and mothers-in-law were the most encouraging. Good appearance, reading of the booklet, and participation in classes to encourage subjects were measured for situational influences; for these factors, Cronbach's α was 0.70. More than half of the mothers preferred to participate in classes, and then, to read the booklet. Appearance was important in about 20% of the subjects. Eating in parents' homes, restaurants, and fast food outlets were the most evaluated preferences (Cronbach's α = 0.77). A daily record and the buying of healthy foods as the first priority were considered for commitment to plans, and Cronbach's α for this scale was 0.79. Buying the best food products as the first priority was estimated in about 80% of the mothers and a small percentage were confident that they could adjust their schedule for the recommended points. The Likert scale was used for measuring the aforementioned items.
The nutrition-education intervention design, based on Pender's HPM for the experimental group, included three 45–60 min training sessions in 6–10, 18, and 26 weeks of pregnancy. A baseline assessment of the participants' usual food intake using a three-day dietary record (including one weekend day) occurred at 6–10 weeks of gestation in the two groups.[18] The food records were analyzed for the mean number of servings of each food group. Each woman had a meeting with the study nutritionist at the time of enrollment for nutritional assessment; in addition, an individualized nutrition intervention plan was developed. In the first session, the dietary pattern, including the average daily servings of five food groups, was explained to the participants. The food groups were (i) grain (cereal), mostly whole grains; (ii) milk, yoghurt, cheese, and/or alternatives (mostly reduced fat); (iii) lean meat and poultry, fish, eggs, nuts and seeds, and legumes/beans; (iv) fruits; and (v) vegetables. One booklet,[15] which included the benefits of the recommended points, the barriers to implementation, and the ways to overcome these barriers during pregnancy, was given to each of the participants in the experimental group. Each participant was requested to record her daily dietary food intakes on a monthly basis to develop a commitment toward a plan. They were also requested to record the daily food portions on a form and keep this record with them for use in future sessions. These data and responses to questions about the leaflet's points were used to examine the participants' compliance and to give individualized feedback to each woman as needed. With the exception of the first session, pregnant mothers were divided into groups, including 3–8 persons who discussed their opinions about recommended points (through role-playing and brainstorming). In the second session, practical steps (goal-setting techniques) to increase self-efficacy [19] were taught to the mothers in the experimental group. Positive and negative feelings toward the dietary pattern were discussed by mothers. In a training session, the researcher explained to the participants' husbands, mothers, and mother-in-laws about the role of nutrition in improving the outcome of pregnancy and the influencing factors of consumption (such as the availability of healthy foods at home). The researcher asked them to support pregnant mothers with healthy eating. Being familiar with the immediately competing demands, the preferences for dietary pattern were taught through computer-based instruction in the third session. The participants learnt how to replace soft drinks with dairy products, unhealthy snacks with fruits or dried fruits, pickles with vegetables, white bread with high-fiber bread, and so forth. Midwives and physicians were blinded to subject randomization and the educational contents to prevent contamination. Once again, at 34–36 weeks of gestation, a consecutive 3-day food intake record was collected in the two groups and analyzed for number of food servings to assess the effect of intervention. Pregnant mothers were instructed by the first author [Figure 1].
Figure 1: CONSORT trial flow diagram for pregnant mothers who recruited
The data were analyzed using the SPSS statistical software package (version 18, IBM Company, the United States), and p < 0.05 was considered significant. The normality of the data was also examined through the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. The homogeneity in the baseline data of the demographic and baseline characteristics of the two groups were analyzed by χ2 and independent sample t-tests. Differences in the average daily servings of the food groups and Pender's HPM constructs before and after the intervention were tested using the paired sample t-test and the independent t-test. The correlation of daily servings consumption with Pender's HPM constructs were analyzed through the Pearson correlation analysis.
Ethics approval was obtained from the Human Research Ethics Board for Health Sciences at the Public Health College of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences (4326) and the Vice-chancellor of Research and Technology of the Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Written informed consent was obtained from participants.
The two groups were not significantly different with respect to the participants' characteristics [Table 1], Pender's HPM constructs [Table 2], and the number of food servings [Table 3]. The independent sample t-test indicated that the mean scores of the perceived benefits, self-efficacy, activity-related effect, interpersonal influences (husband support), and commitment to action increased significantly in the experimental group. In addition, there was significant reduction in the competing demands construct in comparison to the control group [Table 2]. The average daily number of food servings significantly improved in experimental group [Table 3]. Before intervention, the average daily serving of grain in interventional group was significantly correlated with husband support (r = 0.29, p = 0.009) and commitment to plan (r = 0.36, p = 0.006). The servings of fruit and the competing demands (r = 0.35, p = 0.003) were related as well. After intervention, the average daily servings of fruit (r = −0.28, p = 0.016) and vegetable (r = 0.24, p = 0.039) were significantly correlated with the perceived benefits. In addition, the meat group and self-efficacy (r = 0.33, p = 0.003), the meat group and social support (r = 0.19, p = 0.045), competing demands and grain (r = 0.20, p = 0.040), competing demands and vegetable servings (r = −0.20, p = 0.043), and commitment to plan and the fruit group (r = −0.31, p = 0.007) were associated in the interventional group. There was a significant negative association between the vegetable portions (r = −0.25, p = 0.018) and the competing demand in the control group [Table 4].
Table 1: Comparison of participants' characteristics according to study groups (n=174)
Table 2: Comparison of constructs of Pender's HPM before and after intervention within and between study groups
Table 3: Comparison of daily average number of food servings within and between study groups
Table 4: Correlation of daily average number of food servings with each of Pender's HPM constructs after intervention according to study groups
Our results showed that nutrition education intervention based on Pender's HPM was effective in improving the dietary pattern among pregnant mothers. In the present study, higher scores of perceived benefits in the interventional group increased after the intervention. In addition, other researchers reported that women's compliance to advice increased when healthcare professionals provided specific explanations about the importance of the recommended points.[20],[21] Therefore, in order to increase the effect of nutrition education interventions, an emphasis on increasing the knowledge of pregnant mothers about the positive or the reinforcing consequences of healthy eating seems necessary. Participants' self-efficacy for healthy eating increased in the present study. In a similar study among Korean women, it was found that there was a positive association between self-efficacy and dietary behavior.[22] Following the present intervention, the perceived barriers scores did not decrease significantly, while most of barriers themes in this study were similar to those reported in other studies;[23] this provides further confidence in the reliability of our results. We observed a marginal decrease in the baseline value after intervention because some of the items such as gastrointestinal problems require special treatment and some of them (like prices) will be decreased by public policies.[24] Further work is needed to develop the interventions that modify or remove these barriers.
We observed a significant improvement in the mean score of husband support in the experimental group. In addition, Thornton et al.[25] reported that husbands and female relatives were important sources of support for weight and diet among pregnant Latino women. The mean score of situational influences in the experimental group marginally increased. The score of participation in the classes was the highest and mothers stated that the reading booklet was an important item. In accordance to other studies, pregnant women preferred to receive nutrition advice in the form of a written pamphlet [21] and adolescents reported that listening to teachers and healthcare professionals was the best way to learn about nutrition.[26] Both of these groups could, therefore, act as important cues for pregnant nutrition education.
Activity-related effect scores increased significantly in women who obeyed the recommended points. In line with our results, Szwajcer et al. showed that healthy nutritional behavior could help pregnant mothers to feel healthier, both physically and mentally.[27] In our study, we observed a significant decrease in the average score of the competing demands construct in the experimental group in comparison to the control group after the intervention. Mancino et al. concluded that to induce change, it would be beneficial to provide nutritional information about the foods prepared away from home. They showed how well an individual would be able to match the intentions of healthy eating, which changes with time pressure, hunger, and the source of food.[28] Other researchers showed that an emphasis on interventions, which are considered as tasty and affordable health-food substitutes, is necessary for this group.[29]
There was a significant improvement in the mean score of the commitment to action in the intervention group. In accordance to the participants' statements, their daily dietary records were adjusted frequently and followed recommended points.
In accordance to Pender et al., "individuals commit to actions based on perceived benefits, barriers, and self-efficacy to establish or continue health-promoting behavior. Interpersonal influences (family, peers, support system, and sociocultural norms) and situational influences (environmental cues that trigger specific actions and available options) are also frame parts of the environmental context that can either impede or facilitate health-promoting behavior. Competing demands may reduce the commitment to a plan of care, particularly when demands are immediate and pervasive. However, if health actions are attractive and embraced by the individual (preferences), commitment to a health promotion plan is strengthened."[8]
As mentioned above, the enhancement in the mean score of commitment to action was foreseeable.
Moreover, our study led to an increased consumption of the fruit, the vegetable, the dairy, and the meat groups, and a decreased consumption of grains in the experimental group. Positive associations between education and diet quality (favorable dietary intake patterns) have also been reported in several other surveys on pregnant women.[30],[31] In addition, Rauh et al. found that the lifestyle intervention group had a lower energy intake than the control group while comparing the differences between groups in terms of the changes from the baseline to the 36–38th week interval of gestation.[32] The strengths of this study included its randomized blinded design, its inclusion of lean, normal-weight, overweight, and obese women (a sample of the community), its follow-up from early pregnancy through to delivery, and the use of intervention strategies that have practical relevance during prenatal care within the clinical setting. The limitations of this study were partly due to the nature of that. This was primarily an educational intervention, and therefore, we could not design a two- or three-blinded trial. In addition, filling the questionnaire enhanced the control group questions, and consequently, the nutritional knowledge that accompanied dietary counseling as a part of the standard maternity care that might have influenced the control's dietary pattern and the study results. To remain within the word limit, we did not discuss nutrient intake in this paper.
The usage of Pender's HPM for nutrition education is effective for the compliance of pregnant women on the dietary guideline and the food guide pyramid. We suggest a repetition of this study for all the BMI groups with an adequate sample size in primiparous and multiparous women.
We are grateful to Public Health College of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences because of financial support and Vice-chancellor of Research and Technology of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences (294048) because of settings.
Public Health College of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
Hassanzadeh A, Paknahad Z, Khoigani MG. The relationship between macro- and micro-nutrients intake and risk of preterm premature rupture of membranes in pregnant women of Isfahan. Adv Biomed Res 2016;5:155.
Imdad A, Bhutta ZA. Nutritional management of the low birth weight/preterm infant in community settings: A perspective from the developing world. J Pediatr 2013;162:S107-14.
Gaillard R, Durmuş B, Hofman A, Mackenbach JP, Steegers EA, Jaddoe VW. Risk factors and outcomes of maternal obesity and excessive weight gain during pregnancy. Obesity 2013;21:1046-55.
Arrish J, Yeatman H, Williamson M. Midwives and nutrition education during pregnancy: A literature review. Women and Birth 2014;27:2-8.
Guenther PM, Casavale KO, Reedy J, Kirkpatrick SI, Hiza HAB, Kuczynski KJ, et al. Update of the healthy eating index: HEI-2010. J Acad Nutr Diet 2013;113:569-80.
Murakami K, Miyake Y, Sasaki S, Tanaka K, Ohya Y, Hirota Y. Education, but not occupation or household income, is positively related to favorable dietary intake patterns in pregnant Japanese women: The Osaka Maternal and Child Health Study. Nutr Res 2009;29:164-72.
Girard AW, Olude O. Nutrition education and counselling provided during pregnancy: Effects on maternal, neonatal and child health outcomes. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol 2012;26:191-204.
Parsons MA, Pender NJ, Murdaugh CL. Health promotion in nursing practice. Pearson Higher Ed; 2011.
Aşcı Ö, Rathfisch G. Effect of lifestyle interventions of pregnant women on their dietary habits, lifestyle behaviors, and weight gain: A randomized controlled trial. J Health Popul Nutr 2016;35:7.
Guelinckx I, Devlieger R, Mullie P, Vansant G. Effect of lifestyle intervention on dietary habits, physical activity, and gestational weight gain in obese pregnant women: A randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr 2010;91:373-80.
Hui A, Back L, Ludwig S, Gardiner P, Sevenhuysen G, Dean H, et al. Lifestyle intervention on diet and exercise reduced excessive gestational weight gain in pregnant women under a randomised controlled trial. BJOG 2012;119:70-7.
Muktabhant B, Lawrie TA, Lumbiganon P, Laopaiboon M. Diet or exercise, or both, for preventing excessive weight gain in pregnancy. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2015;6:CD0071457.
Herring SJ, Oken E, Rifas-Shiman SL, Rich-Edwards JW, Stuebe AM, Kleinman KP, et al. Weight gain in pregnancy and risk of maternal hyperglycemia. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2009;201:61.
McGowan CA, McAuliffe FM. Maternal dietary patterns and associated nutrient intakes during each trimester of pregnancy. Public health nutrition. 2013;16:97-107.
Brantley SL, Russell MK, Mogensen KM, Wooley JA, Bobo E, Chen Y, et al. American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition and Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Revised 2014 standards of practice and standards of professional performance for registered dietitian nutritionists (competent, proficient, and expert) in nutrition support. J Acad Nutr Diet 2014;114:2001-8.
Althuizen E, Van Poppel MNM, Seidell JC, Van der Wijden C, Van Mechelen W. Design of the New Life (style) study: A randomised controlled trial to optimise maternal weight development during pregnancy [ISRCTN85313483]. BMC Public Health 2006;6:168.
Jenkinson C, McGee H. Health Status Measurement: A Brief but Critical Introduction. Oxford, UK: Radcliffe Medical Press; 1998.
Rutishauser IH. Dietary intake measurements. Public Health Nutr 2005;8:1100-7.
Bakhshandeh M, Pooraram H, Torkestani F, Torabi P, Abedini MD. The national comprehensive guideline for mothers is an eating guide with practical educational points specifically developed to promote healthy eating during pregnancy and breast feeding, Tehran, 2013.
Bloomingdale A, Guthrie LB, Price S, Wright RO, Platek D, Haines J, et al. A qualitative study of fish consumption during pregnancy. Am J Clin Nutr 2010;92:1234-40.
de Jersey SJ, Nicholson JM, Callaway LK, Daniels LA. An observational study of nutrition and physical activity behaviours, knowledge, and advice in pregnancy. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 2013;13:115.
Sui Z, Turnbull DA, Dodd JM. Overweight and obese women's perceptions about making healthy change during pregnancy: A mixed method study. Matern Child Health J 2013;17:1879-87.
Sui Z, Turnbull D, Dodd J. Enablers of and barriers to making healthy change during pregnancy in overweight and obese women. Australas Med J 2013;6:565-77.
Cassady D, Jetter KM, Culp J. Is price a barrier to eating more fruits and vegetables for low-income families? J Am Diet Assoc 2007;107:1909-15.
Thornton PL, Kieffer EC, Salabarría-Peña Y, Odoms-Young A, Willis SK, Kim H, et al. Weight, diet, and physical activity-related beliefs and practices among pregnant and postpartum Latino women: The role of social support. Matern Child Health J 2006;10:95-104.
Wise NJ, Arcamone AA. Survey of adolescent views of healthy eating during pregnancy. MCN Am J Matern Nurs 2011;36:381-6.
Szwajcer EM, Hiddink GJ, Koelen MA, Van Woerkum CM. Nutrition-related information-seeking behaviours before and throughout the course of pregnancy: Consequences for nutrition communication. Eur J Clin Nutr 2005;59:S57-65.
Mancino L. Who has time to cook? How family resources influence food preparation. DIANE Publishing; 2011.
Reyes NR, Klotz AA, Herring SJ. A qualitative study of motivators and barriers to healthy eating in pregnancy for low-income, overweight, African-American mothers. J Acad Nutr Diet 2013;113:1175-81.
Bojar I, Owoc A, Humeniuk E, Wierzba W, Fronczak A. Inappropriate consumption of vitamins and minerals by pregnant women in Poland. Ann Agric Environ Med 2012;19:263-6.
Gollenberg A, Pekow P, Markenson G, Tucker KL, Chasan-Taber L. Dietary behaviors, physical activity, and cigarette smoking among pregnant Puerto Rican women. Am J Clin Nutr 2008;87:1844-51.
Rauh K, Gabriel E, Kerschbaum E, Schuster T, von Kries R, Amann-Gassner U, et al. Safety and efficacy of a lifestyle intervention for pregnant women to prevent excessive maternal weight gain: A cluster-randomized controlled trial. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 2013;13:151.
[Table 1], [Table 2], [Table 3], [Table 4]
1 Motivational Interviewing Screening Tool to Address Pediatric Obesity
Heather Hyde, Steadman L. McPeters
The Journal for Nurse Practitioners. 2022;
[Pubmed] | [DOI]
2 Effectiveness of Integrated Maternal Nutrition Intervention Package on Birth Weight in Rwanda
Michael Habtu, Alemayehu Gebremariam Agena, Maryse Umugwaneza, Monica Mochama, Cyprien Munyanshongore
Frontiers in Nutrition. 2022; 9
3 Frailty and Quality of Life among Older Adults in Communities: The Mediation Effects of Daily Physical Activity and Healthy Life Self-Efficacy
Chia-Hui Lin, Chieh-Yu Liu, Chun-Ching Huang, Jiin-Ru Rong
Geriatrics. 2022; 7(6): 125
4 Üriner Inkontinansli Bir Olgunun Pender'in Sagligi Gelistirme Modeli'ne Göre Incelenmesi: Olgu Sunumu
Ebru CIRBAN EKREM,Senay ÜNSAL ATAN
Bandirma Onyedi Eylül Üniversitesi Saglik Bilimleri ve Arastirmalari Dergisi. 2021;
5 Application of Health Theories and Models of Health Education and Promotion in Nutritional Interventions for Pregnant Women in Iran: A Systematic Review
Niloofar Dadashi Tonkaboni,Nooshin Peyman,Mansoureh Khandehroo
Journal of Education and Community Health. 2021; 8(1): 65
6 Hydration status count for weight gain on pregnancy period
Erry Yudhya Mulyani, Dudung Angkasa, Enrico Stanin, Idrus Jus'at
Nutrition & Food Science . 2021; ahead-of-p(ahead-of-p)
7 PROTOCOL: Effectiveness of nutrition counselling for pregnant women in low- and middle-income countries to improve maternal, infant and child behavioural, nutritional and health outcomes: A systematic review
Omar Dewidar, Ammar Saad, Aqeel Baqar, Jessica C. John, Alison Riddle, Erika Ota, Jacqueline K. Kung'u, Mandana Arabi, Manoj K. Raut, Seth S. Klobodu, Sarah Rowe, Jennifer Busch-Hallen, Chowdhury S. B. Jalal, Sara Wuehler, Vivian Welch
Campbell Systematic Reviews. 2021; 17(4)
8 Effects of guided counseling during pregnancy on birth weight of newborns in West Gojjam Zone, Ethiopia: a cluster-randomized controlled trial
Yeshalem Mulugeta Demilew,Getu Degu Alene,Tefera Belachew
BMC Pediatrics. 2020; 20(1)
9 Uses of dietary supplements and herbal medicines during pregnancy in women undergoing assisted reproductive technologies– A study of taiwan birth cohort
Ching-Yi Lin,Yu-Ju Chen,Shu-Hsin Lee,Ching-Pyng Kuo,Maw-Sheng Lee,Meng-Chih Lee
Taiwanese Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2019; 58(1): 77
10 ANALISIS PENGETAHUAN GIZI DAN HIDRASI TERHADAP SIKAP DAN PERILAKU IBU DI MASA KEHAMILAN
Erry Yudhya Mulyani,Idrus Jus'at,Dudung Angkasa,Dwikani Oklita Anggiruling
GIZI INDONESIA. 2019; 42(2): 91
Goodarzi-Khoigani M
Baghiani Moghadam MH
Nadjarzadeh A
Mardanian F
Fallahzadeh H
Mazloomy-Mahmoodabad S
Diet modification
Cited by others 10


text:
"Grand Slam" feeling in Terminal 1
Booming serve at Munich Airport
Munich Airport has a well-earned reputation as a venue for exciting sports events. Now, the airport is teaming up with the media agency Mediaplus and the Eurosport television network to stage "Enter the Match," an event that will bring the exciting action of this year's Roland Garros French Open tournament to tennis fans at Europe's first and only five-star airport. And from May 22nd to 29th, airport visitors will be able to walk right into an interactive tennis match played on a 100 square meter playing surface. With a mobile game, they can also get involved and compete to win exclusive access to the Eurosport Player.
On Wednesday, May 22nd, before the official start of the tournament, airport guests in the central area of Munich Airport's Terminal 1 will find themselves in the middle of a tennis court: On either side of the 100 square meter surface, three 2-meter tall digital pillars will realistically generate the sights and sounds of a match between two players. The players will move between the first and third pillars on their side of the court and play points. That will put passers-by right at the heart of the action for an up-close experience of every shot, true to the motto: "Enter the Match". After using a QR code to download a mobile game from www.enterthematch.de, visitors can get into the action, too. Those quick enough to follow the sequence of shots between the players and tap in the corresponding pillar numbers will win a free pass to the Eurosport Player – Eurosport's live and on-demand media player.
Cornelia Rossmann, the director of Advertising and Media in Munich Airport's Commercial Activities division says: "Munich Airport offers brands attention-grabbing and interactive placement opportunities in a high-traffic environment. This potential is impressively demonstrated by the Eurosport campaign, which shows that airport advertising is seen as an important component of the media mix."
mobile game "Enter the Match" © Mediaplus
Press Department
Email presse@munich-airport.de
Web www.munich-airport.com/press-contact
Press: Munich Airport traffic figures 2020
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have seen Munich Airport record its lowest traffic figures since it opened in 1992. Due to global travel restrictions, the passenger volume in Munich fell by around 37 million to a little more than eleven million, nearly 77 percent lower than the previous year's figure.
Press: Cooperation with World Vision Support for victims of tropical cyclones Eta and Iota
Munich Airport subsidiary MAI cooperates with World Vision Support for victims of tropical cyclones Eta and Iota
Press: Munich Airport CEO continues to head ACI Europe
Jost Lammers, CEO of Munich Airport, has been re-elected President of the Airport Council International (ACI)
Press: Star Alliance Biometrics
Star Alliance, the world's largest airline alliance, has completed development of an interoperable biometric identity and identification platform that will significantly improve the travel experience for frequent flyer programme customers of Star Alliance member airlines. The Star Alliance Biometrics platform advances the vision of Star Alliance member airlines of delivering a seamless customer journey, while strengthening loyalty value proposition within its travel ecosystem.
Press: Rapid antigen tests on two daily flights
This morning, the first Lufthansa flight, on which all passengers previously tested negative for Covid-19, took off for Hamburg from Munich: LH2058, which left Munich at 9:10 a.m., marked the start of Covid-19 antigen rapid testing on two daily flights between the two metropolises. Once the test was completed, customers received their test results within short time by push message and e-mail. All guests on today's flight tested negative and were able to start their journey to Hamburg. All test results on the second daily flight, LH2059 from Hamburg to Munich, were also negative.
Press: Success for AeroGround Berlin GmbH
With the opening of Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) on October 31, 2020, AeroGround Berlin GmbH, a subsidiary of AeroGround Flughafen München GmbH, commenced ground handling services at the new location. By gaining the Lufthansa Group and Eurowings as new clients at the capital city airport, AeroGround has significantly expanded its market position. AeroGround Berlin has thus become the market leader in ground handling services at the Berlin airport following its relocation.
Press: Renewed certification by the London Skytrax Institute
In May 2015, Munich Airport was awarded 5-Star status for the first time following an extensive review by the London-based Skytrax Institute. Germany's second-largest airport was also the first European airport to be awarded this highest seal of quality. In a first re-certification, Munich Airport successfully maintained its 5-Star status in March 2017. Now the auditors from London have again subjected the Bavarian aviation hub to a detailed evaluation. The auditors' conclusion: Munich Airport has not only maintained its high quality of service and hospitality, but has even further extended it
News of the airport


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Q: How to find row in DB2 .DEL file by identifier from LOAD log file I'm trying to load data into DB2 for LUW table from .DEL file previously exported with EXPORT command:
LOAD CLIENT FROM f:\file.del OF DEL messages f:\file.log insert INTO sch.tab

Got some rows rejected. Trying to find problem data by log file but do not understand how to find exact row having messages like this:

SQL3120W  The field value in row "F29-841936" and column "1" cannot be
  converted to an INTEGER value, but the target column is not nullable.
  The row  was not loaded.

A: LOAD has concepts and options for a dumpfile (see MODIFIED BY DUMPFILE) and exception table (see option FOR EXCEPTION).
In your case with a format mismatch these rows would be dumped into the dumpfile as they cannot be loaded into the given table structure.
If you get rejects because of duplicate keys these rows would be sent to the defined exeption table.
Check out the LOAD documentation for details.

A: The problem was with EOL (ASCII code 10 or 13) symbols occured inside of VARCHAR or CHAR fields. The solution was to use DELPRIORITYCHAR modifier.


text:
Borrowers Defense Loan Forgiveness
The U.S. Small Business Administration has released a single-page form aimed at simplifying the process of applying for the forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program loans, along with newly revised and updated forms to meet the requirements of the most recent stimulus legislation.
Congress approved the COVID-19 relief plan last month that provided $284 billion of funding for small-scale businesses who needed loans. The funds were used to reduce the economic burden of the coronavirus pandemic. The package also mandated the SBA to issue simplified forms within the first 24 hours of the legislation being adopted to make the procedure of applying for forgiveness. It also included conditions designed to facilitate more loans from community banks, especially for minority-owned businesses that were unable to obtain loans last year.
"The Small Business Administration met the requirement of releasing the one page form for the forgiveness of PPP loans by 24 days after the date of enactment of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021," wrote Ed Zollars who is a partner of Thomas, Zollars & Lynch CPAs on his Current Federal Tax Developments blog for Kaplan Financial Education. "The agency also issued the updated forms."
First Draw PPP Terms of loan forgiveness
Borrowers Defense Loan Forgiveness – First Draw PPP loans given to borrowers who meet the criteria are eligible for full loan forgiveness if during the 8- to 24-week period after the disbursement of loan:
This is also true for employee compensation and the.
The loan proceeds are used on payroll costs and other eligible expenses; and
Second Draw PPP Loan Forgiveness The terms
Second Draw PPP loans given to borrowers who meet the criteria are eligible for total loan forgiveness if they do so during the 8to 24 week duration following loan payment:
Employee and compensation levels are kept in the same way as required for the First Draw PPP loan
The loan proceeds can be used to pay the cost of payroll as well as other expenses that are eligible.
A minimum of 60% of profits are used to pay for payroll expenses
How and when to apply for loan forgiveness
A borrower can apply for forgiveness only after all loan proceeds to which the borrower wants forgiveness have been used. The borrower can request forgiveness anytime up to the maturity date of the loan. Borrowers who do not request forgiveness within 10 months of the expiration date of the loan will be able to receive loan payments from their PPP lender.
Download Borrowers Defense Loan Forgiveness
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Categories Loan Forgiveness Form Tags borrower defense to loan repayment application, borrowers defense loan forgiveness, does fedloan do loan forgiveness, has anyone gotten loans forgiven pslf, how to loan forgiveness, who qualifies for borrower defense to repayment loan forgiveness Post navigation
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The RDS is delighted to award a bursary of two weeks training with a top international trainer to include budget return travel fare, accommodation and all training. Four riders will be eligible to compete for the Bursary. The eligible riders will be the winners of the following four competitions: 1.25m – 1.30m Young Riders (110A, 110B) and 1.35m – 1.40m Young Riders (111A, 111B) at the Dublin Horse Show. The final will take place on the Sunday of the Show where the Bursary recipient will be chosen. This Bursary provides a wonderful opportunity for a young rider to further his / her training and broaden his / her experience. Some contribution towards the training costs may be incurred by the winner. A rider may win the Bursary competition on one occasion only.
In the final the riders will be judged on their ability to be as one with their horse. Riders should have a workmanlike appearance, with light, supple and independent seat, and hands conveying the impression of complete control in every situation. The riders will be judged on hand, seat, legs, correct use of the aids, their sense of rhythm, balance, timing and control with empathy for the horse they are riding. The rider should show excellent equitation, position and presentation, meet all fences squarely and at a proper distance. Tack as per SJI rules. An element of the Bursary competition will involve the riders exchanging horses. The exchange of horses and starting order will be determined by a random draw. Once riders have exchanged horses, there will be a 5 minute warming-up period which will take place in the competition arena. Should a rider, or a rider's parent or guardian, feel that a horse is unsuitable for that rider to proceed with to competition, they may appeal to the Judging Panel or withdraw from the competition.
In all matters of interpretation or circumstances unforeseen, the decision of the RDS Organising Committee will be final and binding in all cases.
Cup No. 168, the "Iris Kellett" Perpetual Challenge Trophy will be awarded to the winner of the Young Rider Bursary in memory of the late Iris Kellett.


text:
Latest Essays
Public Vows: A History of Marriage and the Nation
Posted by Arsalan
Categories Education
The author attempts to shed some light on the institution of marriage. The government has an interest in the institution of marriage by controlling the social, political and population. These are the key reasons of a modifiable marriage.. The author goes ahead to show how race and gender are discriminated against by monogamous based Christian institutions of marriage in the United States. The author's purpose of this book is divided into two folds.
First is to highlight the rigorous efforts of the U.S. government in promoting monogamous Christian based marriages, by discouraging any other forms of marriage. Its impact is greatly explicit on gender roles in the society, hence affecting various types of private lives among men and women. Secondly, the definition of gender strongly influenced by the institution of marriage.
Cott emphasizes on the institution of marriage endorsed by the government shaping human identity in both the private and public spheres of life. This has intensely influenced gender roles in the society, which is an integral piece of information in comprehending our community as of today. The author is out to prove her allegation by giving the readers a historical account of marriage in a systematic way from when the United States began up-to-date.
The author also discusses widely the legal measures put in place by the government to support monogamous marriage and discourage any other form of marriage in the history of United States. Cott also debates at great length how the economic positions of men and women changed over the past marriage. She demonstrates how the Federal, Local authorities, Legislative and Judicial had a significant role in charting and shaping marriage direction in the United States.
As a reader of Public Vows, there is no controversy of how correct is the interpretation of monogamous marriage just as the government promoted the institution having a separate effect on women, men, and minorities. If this book was written in the 1950s, it would have been shocking to its readers, but since it is published in 2002, declaring that the marriage institution is bound within the legal spheres attached with public benefits, befitting the married couples is now a prominent piece of information. The question to the reader is what new information Nancy Cott provides in her book.
CHAPTER ANALYSIS
Chapter 2: Perfecting Community Rules with State Laws
Chapter Summary
Emphasis on a monogamous contractual marriage relationship was not the critical form of the intimacy of this time. Other types of cohabitation existed, which also had the cultural support like monogamous marriage, although the Americans decided to naturalize monogamy and marriage. The whites referred to Native Americans practices as scandalized. The Christian missionaries and settlers did not agree with Indian methods that amounted to promiscuity. The government officials regarded the Native American marriage system as unintelligible foreignness. For the Native Americans to qualify as citizens their practices needed to be changed, more so gender and racial considerations played a primary role as the white man's marriage provided civilization to Native American women only and not the men. Native American marriage became more significant, increasing the saliency as the United States expanded its territory in the indigenous areas. This led to the establishment of marriage laws, on citizenship and property rights of married women, the federal government also created incentives; Cott goes to more considerable lengths in exhibiting how the state government had powers in shaping the marriage laws.
The state passed a bill on new rules for marrying, a political theory claiming that the nation depended on monogamy. Getting a legal divorce was an adversarial process, very different from what we have today. This reflected on the traits of marriage which were a separate contract between a husband and wife who consented to terms set by the state who was the third party.
In a move to perfecting community rules in regards to marriage the rise of interracial marriages surfaced. Local communities and judges were forced to accept these kinds of unions created by the local reputation as an equivalent to the ceremonialised ones. The perfect marriage could not hold, as marriage that begun bigamously were also recognized.
The state apparently wanted men to support their dependents and was utilitarian about it. Different laws were created by the state such as desertion which was a direct divorce. Local communities endured such seeming aberrations such as self-divorce and remarriage. If a married couple often experienced friction self-divorce was accepted mostly for the slaves. And all the traditional American native groups, these traditions were commonly used and justified among the white Christians than is usually assumed.
The author states that the laws passed by the legislators did not concern mixed marriages. The laws aimed at keeping the white race unmixed, more precisely the legitimacy of the white race. Amidst promoting monogamous marriage, the laws demeaned colored marriages referring to them as the unnatural mutual attraction between individuals.
Bans on such intermarriages surfaced, Clanton Thomas slaveholding elite states that there was high hypocrisy when slaveholders enjoyed intercourse with blacks and mulatto slaves, and at the same time finding the idea of marriage abhorrent.
Married women property law was enacted during this time. It raised the wealth held by women in the nineteenth century. Even though divorce was sought as a last resort, it was regarded as a more excellent action in the direction of freedom. It was implied as the lifting of a life sentence by the few people who sought it in an impossible marriage. They yearned for a more equitable and voluntarily kind of marriage one that was indeed chosen. State legislators undermined this reasoning declaring that the nature of marriage did not be voluntary as it was essential in the political definition for it to be a voluntary choice as the fixed roles of a wife and husband.
Stephen Skowronek, Building a New American State: The Expansion of National Administrative Capacities, 1877–1920 (Cambridge, Cambridge UP, 1982); Richard L. McCormick, "The Party Period and Public Policy: An Exploratory Hypothesis," JAH, 66 (1979), 279–98; Richard John, Spreading the News: The American Postal System from Franklin to Morse (Cambridge, Harvard UP, 1995), 1–20, quotation from the historian John Murrin on 18.
Quotations from southwestern state court cases in James Hugo Johnston, "Documentary Evidence of the Relations of Negroes and Indians," Journal of Negro History, 14:1 (Jan. 1929), 41.
Chapter 5: Monogamy as the Law of Social Life
The traditional monogamy marriage needed that it needed some boosting after the civil war. Alternatives to free love and communitarian bedevilled marriage institution, as well as wartime threatening the formal way of life. The public attempts to regularise informal kinds of marriage and multiple numbers of marriage among ex-slaves, thereby spreading innovation about married woman property rights and divorce proceedings.
Women gathered in capitols demanding their rights as wives the Mormons in Utah became more vociferous and more than ever. Brigham Young became more confident in declaring a national publicised conversation stating that he would defy the Morrill Act's Prohibition of "Plural Marriage." Announcements such as "have an equal right to make laws protect polygamy." were made.
After the Union victory and slaves' emancipation, there is a growing power of the state. Marriage becomes the most critical establishment in a unified and national country.
Cott argues that masculinity and male citizenship all was dependent on men who had to get a woman and act as a wife, this established the man both financially and politically. The fact that the wife depended on the husband underwrote the husband's independence.
Nancy Cott the hegemonic of a state-sanctioned monogamous marriage in addition to different whom are entirely defeated. Hence the clergy Protestants were concerned with the high number of divorce cases. The author insists on writing "Divorce was the leading edge….. It stimulated the vagaries of desire, which Christian-model monogamy had meant to foreclose."
The laws placed on moral tenors are maintained with judicial vindication assisting to reduce the influence and size of minorities that searched for alternatives to a standard form of marriage. The post-Civil war federal acted in support of standardized monogamy creating a force for the proper regulations.
In Reynolds v. United States (1878) the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Congress was vested with powers to illegalize polygamy in all the states that marriage was illegal. The courts made an understating that there was no link between monogamy and democracy, and polygamy and despotism, bringing on the new construction on racism.
New York Times, Dec. 5, 1868, 4; see also May 11, 1870, 4, and May 12, 1870, 4. Cf. the editorial in the New York Post, May 11, 1870, calling the trial a farce; and see Miller, "Public Price." "The McFarland Case," The Nation, May 12, 1870, 300–02, the quotation from 301; cf. The Nation's first, skeptical notice of the murder, Dec. 2, 1869, 474–75.
Between 1867 and 1886, Utah courts granted 4,087 divorces, and only 1,267 of the couples had been married in Utah. Riley, Divorce, 96–99; Sarah Barringer Gordon, "'The Liberty of Self-Degradation': Polygamy, Woman Suffrage, and Consent in Nineteenth-Century America," JAH, 83 (Dec. 1996), 843–45. Gordon's work stresses that ant polygamists wanted to establish a national standard of monogamy
Chapter 6: Consent, the American Way
In the nineteenth century bills on property law was passed in ways that reaffirmed gender roles in a marriage. For example, a woman who petitions for divorce had to illustrate why divorce was necessary. She had to show how she is suffering from her husband abuse, while she remained sexually faithful to her husband. She had to show her victimization at the hands of her husband. Women's helplessness in the labour industry created dependency on their husbands forever; this established the maintenance law for married women after divorce.
In the southern states, some judges awarded alimony to some guilty wives with the acknowledgment that they did not possess any assets of their own to live. These grants led to the assumptions that women were like dependents with disabilities, and their husbands were forever their supporters. The misogynistic hostility among the working class men and their female counterparts changed the laws on the women's status. Cott draws attention on how the legislators used these reforms in highlighting the reforms in marriage, "the voluntary nature of nature…. as essential in its political definition as were the fixed roles of husband and wife." The increase in contractual society, consent was highly regarded as an essential factor in marriage.
The massive flow of immigrants into America between 1890 and 1920 created new pressure on the relationship between policy and marriage. Casing the nation to change and develop it immigration policy drastically.
Immigrant and marriage are interrelated in various ways. Early legislation of linking citizenship to immigrants needed less debate. A woman from any origin became the American citizen through naturalization. Also, a child born in America qualified for citizenship. In this chapter, the author seeks to engage the readers with the new policies in regards to marriage that were brought up.
The author states that early confrontations with Native Americans, Mormon polygamists led to the emancipation of slaves and immigrant spouses. The invention of the federal new deal income tax and welfare programs has consistently impacted on marriages.
She insists on one of the paradoxes of American policy as a fact that simultaneously, marriage has been confined and encouraged. She wants to know why Christian monogamy marriage was idolized to the exclusion of any other form of marriage.
The state was ready to bolster citizenship through marriage, but those people started taking advantage of it. Women became dependent on marriage for nationality. Men began abusing this right of naturalization and began marrying prostitutes.
Rep. Rowland Mahany, CR 54/1, May 20, 1896, 5474. See George W. Stocking, Jr., Victorian Anthropology (New York, Free P, 1987), and "The Turn of the Century Concept of Race," Modernism/ Modernity, 1 (1993), 4–16; Barbara J. Fields, "Ideology and Race in American History," in Region, Race, and Reconstruction, ed. J. Morgan Kousser and James MacPherson (New York, Oxford UP, 1982); and Matthew Frye Jacobson, Whiteness of a Different Colour (Cambridge, Harvard UP, 1998).
Shanks v. Dupont, 3 Pet. 242 (1830); Virginia Sapiro, "Women, Citizenship, and Nationality: Immigration and Naturalization Policies in the United States," Politics and Society, 13:1 (1984), 1–26; Nancy F. Cott, "Marriage and Women's Citizenship in the United States, 1830–1934," AHR, 103:5 (Dec.1998), 1440–74.
Nancy Cott paints a picture to her readers on the institution of marriage as merely not a private domestic act but a public institution with structures created by the state. She uses marriage as a frame to dip into a dazzling palette of secondary sources and original research. The book covers the significance of a marriage contract for public policing of gender, national identity and race. Blending scholarly arguments in the new synthesis of American history.
Her arguments heavily depend on secondary sources and original analysis on the legal choices and legislative actions related to marriage. Cott emphasizes that marriage mattered as much as community standings as for self-comprehension. She conceptualizes her research on the history of the nation as much as the history of marriage, paying more attention to questions of individual identity, and circles of intimacy. Thus she focuses her efforts on analyzing the compulsive and coercive aspects of the marriage contracted on monogamous Christian marriage model.
The intense legal and social kinds of marriages and marital policies over the twentieth century have not unravelled the official reliance on marriage as a state's pillar. By including and excluding some forms of marriage, matrimonial systems have been sculpted to the state's citizenry together with its social and moral standard, directly affecting the social understanding of roles played by all genders and races. This book creates a panoramic view of a marriage based on political history, revealing of a national government's character in people's private lives. After reading this book, I cannot think of marriage the same way.
Cott, Nancy F. Public Vows: A History of Marriage and the Nation. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard Univ. Press, 2000. Print.
Quotation from Rep. Richard Bartholdt of Mo., CR 54/1, May 19, 1896,5423–24. Wong Kim Ark v. the U.S., 169 U.S. 649 (1898). Two justices dissented, despite the clarity of the fourteenth amendment on this point.
Policy Initiative that References the Education Field at the Local, State, or National Level
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Introduction A strong governmental power can make a country strong, peaceful and bring the economic growth. Opposite, a weak governmental power can make a country weak, unpeaceful, poor and even cause the wars. Mexico is a country has abundant resources, …
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M. Jacks Fire & Safety Equipment Company is a Texas Corporation founded in 1949 by the late Morris Jacks. Since then, M. Jacks Fire & Safety has been dedicated to offering exemplary service and high quality products at a fair price for over 63 years. By promoting innovative products as they became available during the 50's and 60's, M. Jacks Fire & Safety grew into one of Texas' Premier Fire Equipment Companies. M. Jacks Fire & Safety was one of the first companies to promote the use of Multi-Purpose (ABC) Dry Chemical Fire Extinguishers and Automatic Kitchen Hood Fire Protection Systems.
We don't just service and install fire extinguishers, we check for trouble spots and non-compliance issues you may not be aware of. Our service technicians are professional, knowledgeable and well trained. With 24-hour same day service we are always on call and ready when you need us.
Your online resource for links and articles to learn more about fire safety and protection, and the fire equipment service industry.


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Meet our new business partners: CAW
Homepage•Business Partner News•Meet our new business partners: CAW
Business Partner News
July 18, 2017 October 14, 2020 Rowan Haarhoff
Cape Armature Winders (CAW) was established 47 years ago and has built up a reputation as one of the premier service providers of electrical and mechanical repairs to AC and DC motors and alternators, generators and pumps in South Africa. CAW is a family owned and operated company,both directors (George and Nick Epenetos) have been at the company for over 28 years. CAW currently employs 72 staff and has plans to grow the business over the next 3-5 years.
CAW has been looking for a BBBEE partner that also has a heart for making an impact in the lives of people in South Africa. In Kamvalethu they have found a Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) which has a love for children and their education. We are excited at the possibilities that this partnership presents.
Children in low income and underdeveloped areas bear the brunt of the poor education that often characterises these areas. Kamvalethu desires to give children like these, access to a quality education regardless of where they live so that they might have the opportunity to influence their own life trajectory.
Kamvalethu invests money and resources in schools and other NPO's that are innovators in educating previously disadvantaged children living in underdeveloped areas. They fund these investments by acquiring shares in businesses which then allows Kamvalethu as a shareholder to receive dividend income. CAW has sold a 26% share to Kamvalethu. We are proud and excited to be partnered with an organisation that sows into the lives of these children….giving them a hope and a future. We feel this partnership reflects part of the original heartbeat of BBBEE.
George Epenetos, Director of CAW says "I hope and pray that the realisation of the future successes of CAW will be shared with hundreds of children who are in need of an education….this should assist each of us in answering the "why" we come to work each day."
Using tech in rural areas
Investing In Children's Libraries
Thoughts on the effects of COVID-19 on Education


Restricted Records: Information on search warrants and protective orders are not public information.
There is no Probate Court as such. The County Clerk also handles the duties as the county's recorder for liens, judgments, births, marriages, death, and military discharges.
Contact the Hancock County Office of the County Clerk if you would like to find vital records, such as birth, death, marriage, divorce, and real estate records.
OnlineSearches.com - Search for Hancock County public records by town, record type, and/or state.


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#16: Google Whacked by Hack Attack
By Kiona N. SmithDecember 16, 2010 6:00 AM
When a multibillion-dollar corporation gets quietly and spectacularly hacked, the last thing you expect it to do is announce the breach to the world. Yet that's exactly what Google did last January after discovering hackers had breezed past its security measures to burrow deep into its network.
The well-coordinated attack, dubbed Operation Aurora, began with an instant message to a Google employee in China that included a link to a malicious Web site. When the employee clicked on the link, the nefarious code downloaded to a computer, enabling the attackers to control it and hop to other machines in the company's U.S. network. The intruders accessed a software repository used by Google developers, siphoned intellectual property, and viewed basic Gmail account information for at least two human rights activists who focus on China.
No fewer than 27 other companies—financial institutions and defense contractors among them—were also attacked, but most remained mum. Google went public in part to counter the silence of its fellow victims. Google cofounder Sergey Brin said in February that "if more companies were to come forward with respect to these sorts of security incidents and issues, I think we would all be safer." Google's admission made other companies realize the sophistication of the attacks they might face, says Alan Paller, director of research at the sans Institute, which trains computer security professionals.
Although determining the precise source of a hack is often impossible, fingers pointed at China as the likely origin, sparking a volley of political posturing from Beijing, Silicon Valley, and Washington, D.C. In its blog post reporting the cyberattack, Google announced it would stop censoring search results in China and threatened to pull out of the country entirely. In the end, the company only added a link to its Chinese search page, allowing users to view uncensored results through its Hong Kong–based search engine.
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A compilation of news items from around town, including the postponement of a Gun Safety Forum, New regulations for dog walkers at Stow Town Forest, Board of Selectmen meeting, a proposed land gift to the town and an update on the progress of the Delaney St. solar field.
Stow's Gun Safety Forum scheduled for tonight, Wednesday night, has been postponed to the fall, according to organizers from the Stow Democratic Town Committee. Police Chief Bill Bosworth advised the group against moving forward with the event as scheduled, though he did not prohibit it. "It was their choice, but I had a legitimate public safety concern around it. The venue (Town Hall) is too small, there is no parking, and no place for protestors. I know it's a private event, but the gun advocates have a right to show up, and they will," he said.
Bosworth referenced a growing buzz about the event on the internet within gun advocacy groups as well as strong opinions about the make-up of the panel gaining a loud voice in town over the past several days. "I expect there would have been many, many protesters," said Bosworth, explaining that the one detail officer assigned to the event and paid for by the group would not be enough to keep things under control.
Bosworth instead would prefer a larger auditorium site, increased police presence to ensure public safety, parking for expected television news vans along with plenty of accessible public parking that would not require attendees to cross Rt. 117 as rush hour traffic is speeding through town. "Hale would be a much better venue, or the best would be the high school," advised Bosworth. Prior to the event being postponed, Selectman Jim Salvie had removed himself as Moderator of the panel discussion and Bosworth had also said he was not going to participate as a panel spokesperson, as had been earlier advertised. Both cited public safety issues as their main concerns.
Dog walkers and their dogs are still welcome at the Gardner Hill Conservation Land/Town Forest, but must adhere to new and specific regulations pertaining to the pets. Pat Perry of the Conservation Commission said her board responded to complaints from residents and also to situations involving the Animal Control Officer at the forest, and created expanded regulations, entitled Dog Activities and Uses, to make the property more dog and human friendly.
While dogs are not required to be leashed at all times, walkers must have a leash with them and be prepared to control their dogs with restraint if voice commands cannot keep it beside the owner when dogs, people or horses approach on the paths.
Dogs must remain in owner's sight at all times which means, no more letting dogs free to run at will. Owners may only walk two dogs at a time. Professional dog walkers, those who are paid to walk dogs owned by others, are prohibited from town conservation property. Walkers must carry a leash for each dog in their care. Perry feels if these regulations are adhered to, the need to make the conservation land a leashed property will not be necessary.
The Stow Board of Selectmen elected Don Hawkes as Chairman and Gary Bernklow as Clerk in their newly reorganized form after the Town Elections. The agenda for the first official meeting of the new Board, which included Tom Ryan and re-elected members Jim Salvie and Charlie Kern, had a fairly light agenda on Tuesday night.
One order of business was the approval of a written policy regarding police officers within the category of Special Officer. This will allow retired Stow police officers, who retired at a high rank, to be listed higher on the call list for open shifts and detail work, than other non-union Special Police Officers.
The call list for overtime will continue to first call up current full time officers and dispatchers, and then if situations exist where those employees are not available, these higher ranked retirees will be called before other non-union officers on the list. This will directly affect recent retirees Chief Mark Trefry and Detective Steve Sturtevant. "I believe that this preferential treatment is justified in consideration for the decades of dedicated work that they gave to Stow," said Town Administrator Bill Wrigley.
The town has also started the process of purchasing 323 Great Road, as directed by the Town Meeting vote last week. Wrigley reported that negotiations regarding land swaps with the churches will begin in earnest to create frontage access points for the property. He also said that the Fire Station Building Committee will not be permitted to expend funds toward design development of a new station situated on the property until there is a Purchase and Sales Agreement on the land and a written agreement in principle with the authorized agents of the churches regarding needed road access.
Wrigley and the Board continue to urge voters to come to the polls on June 25th and vote the funding of the Great Road land purchase as a debt exclusion – a scenario that the Board and Town Administrator feel is the least detrimental to the long term solvency of the town.
The Planning Board issued a notice to other town departments that Stow Acres is considering gifting 53 acres of land to the Town of Stow. Walter Lankau, owner of the golf course, came into the Planning Board, carrying his tax bill, making the verbal offer to the Town. Planning Coordinator Karen Kelleher said nothing is official until Lankau puts the offer in writing, but in the meantime, she circulated the information to the Conservation Commission and the Selectmen to gauge their interest. "It really is all wetlands, " she said. A quick glance at the topography maps does not indicate any buildable upland, nor any frontage. "As wetlands, it is unbuildable, and really seems to be protected from development without the town having to accept it," surmised Kelleher.
The solar farm project is getting closer to breaking ground on Delaney Street. A meeting this week will review current plans and approve a sidewalk easement zone. "If their escrow account is all set, they should be able to break ground soon," said the Planning Board's Kelleher.


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Ensaïmada, Symbol Of The Balearic Islands (And Summer Vacation)
By Jeff Koehler
Published October 14, 2016 at 9:15 AM PDT
The ensaïmada is an iconic pastry from Spain's Balearic Islands that dates back centuries.
The night ferry to Menorca departs Barcelona at 11:00 p.m., slips past the sail-shaped W Hotel outlined in lights, and heads southeast across the (usually calm) Mediterranean as passengers disappear into their cabins.
Just after dawn, my wife, two daughters, and I join other sleepy travelers along the railing as the ship slides into the lengthy, finger-thin port of Maó. Once we have driven off the ferry and are heading towards our summer house in the center of the small island, we stop at a bar for a morning café amb llet (milky coffee) and flaky, spiral ensaïmada pastry dusted with powdered sugar.
For those who pass their summer holidays on one of Spain's Balearic Islands, off the Spanish Mediterranean coast, that moment— that first ensaïmada — means one thing: vacation has begun.
The flat, snail-shaped ensaïmada – as it's spelled locally in Catalan – is Mallorca's most emblematic food. It is equally iconic, and popular, on neighboring Menorca, Ibiza, and Formentera. Mallorca claims to be the original creator of the delicacy, but differences from island to island are minimal.
Made with coiled, lardy fermented dough, the outside is golden brown and slightly firm, even a touch brittle, while the inside is surprisingly ethereal. In the 1970s, Josep Pla, Spain's greatest food writer, called it the "lightest, airiest and most delicate thing in this country's confectionery."
Ensaïmades range in size, from individual portions, six or so inches across, to as large as a pizza that needs to be cut into wedges. While generally plain, pastissers also prepare them with cabell d'àngel ("angel hair," a stringy sweet made from squash pulp), creamy chocolate, sobrassada (a spreadable paprika-rich cured pork sausage), or apricot halves. Locals — and visitors — eat them for breakfast, as an afternoon snack, and for dessert.
Antes de que hubiera harina, ya existía la ensaimada mallorquina, goes a rhyming Spanish refrain. "Before there was flour, the Mallorcan ensaïmada already existed."
Jaime Reina / AFP/Getty Images
A baker prepares ensaïmades, a traditional sweet bread, at a bakery in Palma de Mallorca. The ensaïmada is a traditional Mallorcan dessert made with reduced pork lard.
Figuratively, at least. The pastry dates back many centuries, although precisely just how many is unknown. Its long history has been lost in the fog of legend and folklore.
The Balearic Islands saw waves of conquerors, who each left footprints on its baroque cuisine. Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, and then, from around AD 900, the Moors, the general name for the Muslim inhabitants, ruled the islands. On December 31, 1229, Jaume I of Aragon conquered Mallorca (and soon after Menorca and Ibiza).
One legend claims that a Jewish baker presented the Christian conquistador with an ensaïmada upon his arrival.
Culinary sleuths, though, generally point to the Moors as the source of the pastry, even if their proof is circumstantial.
One flimsy argument is in the shape: coiled like a turban that the ruling Moors wore. For master pastissers like Tolo Pons, at Can Pons in Es Mercadal, the Menorcan village most associated with the pastry, the shape has more to do with getting the best from dough, which ferments for 12 to 18 hours. Pons makes a loose, open spiral with a snaking piece of dough, and as it expands overnight, the whorls connect, giving the pastry its archetypal shape and, once baked, characteristic textures.
A second argument points to the name, whose root is the Catalan word saïm, meaninglard. (Today llard is more commonly used.) This, some say, comes from the Arabic word for fat, samna (or sman as pronounced in North African Arabic dialect). The Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana disagrees, naming its source as the vulgarLatin sagīmen.
It seems unlikely that a pastry whose name means "enlarded" would be of Muslim origin, given that lard is forbidden by the Q'uran. Lard is a defining ingredient. It gives the dough elasticity and finished flakiness, not to mention its name.
Then again, dishes rarely appear spontaneously, and one Mallorcan culinary historian has written about similar Moorish pastries on the island, called bulemes dolces, made with sheep's milk butter.
Perhaps the lard came later, with the new version taking a different name. In lands recently conquered by Christians, eating pork or items with lard was a way to prove you were not a Muslim.
An ensaïmada, a traditional pastry, sits in the front window of a bakery in Palma de Mallorca.
Ensaïmada's early history, though, will remain speculation, as the first written references to it did not appear until the mid-18th century, in a collection of Balearic Island recipes gathered by a Franciscan friar. Ensaïmades, the friar noted, were treats for festive and celebratory occasions.
The pastry became widely popular, and was — is — a typical snack dunked into a cup of hot, thick chocolate. While absent from the early annals of food, references to the pastry have abounded since the 19th century, including high praise from some of Spain's greatest writers.
And its greatest chef, Ferran Adrià, the Picasso of the food world, didn't hold back, saying recently, "There is not a product equal to the ensaïmada in the world." Certainly not in Spain, where using fermented dough is rare.
The Mallorcan ensaïmada is considered so unique that the Spanish government awarded it Protected Geographical Indication status. Finding an ensaïmada on the Spanish mainland is not impossible, but they tend to be less airy or flaky.
For any visitor to the Balearic Islands, they are not just a daily holiday indulgence but a mandatory souvenir as well.
In the second week of September, before school restarts, we return to Barcelona. While my wife and I finish closing up the house, our girls go to one of the village bakeries to pick up our order of large ensaïmades to take home. On the seat between them in a packed car as we drive to the port is a tall stack of octagonal-shaped cardboard pizza boxes.
Most passengers disembark ferries (or flights) from Menorca or Mallorca with a stack of these boxes tied together with twine — gifts for a friend, an in-law, or perhaps the neighbor who has been watering the plants.
Carrying ensaïmades off the ship (or plane) is the final sign that summer is, alas, over.
Jeff Koehler is the author of Darjeeling: The Colorful History and Precarious Fate of the World's Greatest Tea, which won the 2016 IACP award for literary food writing. He moved to Barcelona in 1996. Follow him on Twitter @koehlercooks.
Jeff Koehler