text:
Cassandra | The Church of England—out of touch
Adam still goes higher than Eve
Why shouldn't women become bishops? After all, there are now more women ordained as priests by the Church of England, than men.
By J.A.
CASSANDRA is, like many—even most—of his fellow Brits, a determined secularist, yet he cannot help feeling a certain amused affection for an Anglican institution he abandoned decades ago. The Church of England, once described by an 18th century wag as "the Tory Party at prayer", has just found itself scathingly attacked by the very head of the Tory Party. The reason is the narrow vote yesterday by the governing General Synod of the church not to allow women to become bishops (despite support from the top of the Church, the proposal did not get the necessary two-thirds approval by lay members of the Synod). David Cameron, the Conservative leader and British prime minister, declared in the House of Commons today:
On a personal basis I'm a strong supporter of women bishops. I'm very sad about the way the vote went yesterday and I'm particularly sad for the archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, because I know he saw this as a major campaign that he wanted to achieve at the end of his excellent tenure of that office. I think it's important for the Church of England to be a modern church in touch with society as it is today and this was a key step it needed to take.
Though, as a non-believer, I hardly have a dog in this particular fight, I am nonetheless with Mr Cameron. Why shouldn't women become bishops? After all, there are now more women ordained as priests by the Church of England, than men. Do they have to hit the same glass ceiling as their counterparts in business simply because of some dogmatic interpretation of ecclesiastical history?
Perhaps I'm being a touch UK-centric. The new archbishop of Canterbury, an Old Etonian former oil executive called Justin Welby, will have enough on his plate in 2013 without having to deal with jibes from David Cameron (also, as the press always notes, an Old Etonian). The Anglican community encompasses virtually the whole world, and while the Episcopalians in America are mostly for women bishops (and have ordained 13 of them), the same is not necessarily so in Africa. More divisively too, the Church in both America and Britain is broadly in favour of gay ordination (and some are in favour of gay marriage too); in Africa, the reverse is true.
So what happens next? The short answer is nothing. The issue of women bishops will not come before the Synod for another three years. Meanwhile, as The World in 2013 points out, Christianity, especially the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, will have a tricky time.
More from Cassandra
Forecasting farewell
Five restaurants for 2014


Rolls-Royce recognised as one of the best in Europe for 'Technology Management' by the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology.
The 'Successful Practice Award' was presented recently at a ceremony held in Vaals, the Netherlands.
Rolls-Royce, which has invested over £7.5 billion in the last ten years on Research and Development, was commended for its long-term strategic approach to technology development. Also highlighted were its network of University Technology Centres and Manufacturing Research Centres which act as both generators of technology and important recruiting grounds for talent. Rolls-Royce was identified as possessing a culture of openness, which incentivizes innovation, and an ability to identify and channel resources into successful technology.
Some 160 companies participated in 2012/13, with five receiving awards following a rigorous screening and assessment process. Potential award winners were assessed on how well they organized their technology management, their forecasting of requirements and their planning and controlling of the development of new technology.
The Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology is part of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the largest organization for applied research in Europe with more than 80 research units, 22,000 staff and research centres and representative offices in Europe, USA, Asia and in the Middle East. The award itself is organized and run together with a consortium of world class European companies including Daimler, Bosch, and Miele.


text:
Data science is one of the most sought after skill-sets out there right now, with demand for those with skills far outstripping supply. This is good news for anyone who's gained, are in the process of gaining, or are planning to gain those data analysis skills.
But what exactly is data science, what does it entail, and what makes a data scientist?
If you're looking to get started in the world of data science but don't know where to begin, read on to find out what data science is, what it really means, what you need to succeed in the field, and why its all the rage right now.
The chances are that you've probably already heard about data science before arriving here. In fact, I'd be surprised if you hadn't since the buzz around the field has reached crazy levels in recent years.
If you only listened to the hype you might think that data scientists have nearly superhuman abilities that can solve pretty much every.single.problem that exists in the universe (spoiler alert: they can't).
Everyone is so excited about data science that Harvard Business Review even listed data scientist as "the sexiest job in the 21st century."
Data has become kind of a big deal and by extension, those that know how to work with large volumes of it are so hot right now. This rush for all things data science is in part due to the massive influx of data (aka "big data") that now exists in the world and that is being produced every single day.
Understandably, this has led businesses (traditionally in the tech industry) to realize that being able to effectively and accurately analyze large quantities of data has the potential for very real (and very big) gains. To recruit the best and brightest employees that could help a company capitalize on this surge of data, companies began offering starting salaries in the six figures for job titles like data scientist and data analyst.
It's not just companies that are interested in big data, though.
High demand for data science has also been fueled by researchers, analysts, and academics who are equally as excited by the potentials of big data (and small data too!) and want to be able to leverage technology to answer very real questions.
Combined with advances in computing power, this has all led to something exciting – what exactly that is though, is up for debate.
A quick internet search to help answer the question "what is data science?" yields contradictory answers filled with so many overused buzzwords that they are basically useless and often leave you with more questions than answers. For instance, how big is big data? Is data science even a science? Or, on an even more fundamental level, what is data? And perhaps the most important question of all – why should I care about data science?
So, while data science is now an established career path, the details about what it actually is are still a bit fuzzy.
Part of the reason there is so much confusion around data science is that it isn't well-defined.
As Cathy O'Neil and Rachel Schutt discuss in their must-read book on the topic Doing Data Science: Straight Talk from the Frontline, "part of the problem is that there 'is no well-defined body of knowledge, and there's no canonical corpus. It's popularized and celebrated in the press and media, but there's no 'authority' to push back on erroneous or outrageous accounts. There's a lot of overlap with various other subjects as well; it could become redundant with a machine learning textbook, for example."
Despite all the hype and the ambiguous, hard to pin down definitions, data science is definitely something, even if only just an area of interest that is undergoing some sort of paradigm shift.
But what exactly is data science?
On the most basic level, data science is about using scientific methods to solve real problems with data.
More broadly, data science is a multidisciplinary field which brings together practitioners and specialists from a number of different areas, generally sitting at the overlap between statistics and math, computer science, and specific area expertise (this could be anything from business or chemistry to zoology, international relations, theology or history).
You might have already seen Drew Conway's data science venn diagram circulating around the interweb – it does a pretty good job of illustrating data science's multidisciplinary nature and how everything fits together.
Mike Driscoll offers a pretty neat definition of data science IRL:
Data science, as it's practiced, is a blend of Red-Bull-fueled hacking and espresso-inspired statistics.
But data science is not merely hacking, because when hackers finish debugging their Bash one-liners and Pig scripts, few care about non-Euclidean distance metrics.
And data science is not merely statistics, because when statisticians finish theorizing the perfect model, few could read a tab-delimited file into R if their job depended on it.
Data science is the civil engineering of data. Its acolytes possess a practical knowledge of tools & materials, coupled with a theoretical understanding of what's possible.
A simpler and more condenses description of what a data scientist does comes from Mike Loukides:
Data scientists are involved with gathering data, massaging it into a tractable form, making it tell its story, and presenting that story to others.
Breaking the name down, we arrive at a potentially suitable definition for our own use. Merriam-Webster defines the two components of data science as:
Data: factual information (such as measurements or statistics) used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation
Science: the state of knowing : knowledge as distinguished from ignorance or misunderstanding
So, a useful way to define data science could be:
The process of collecting factual information, measurements, or statistics for reference or analysis in order to reach a state of knowledge or understanding.
It's in the name, right? Data + science = data science.
We could then extend (and modernize) this definition even further to bring it inline with the technologies shaping the modern world to include the vast amounts of information (big data) we have access to and the ability to carry out predictive modelling and forecasts using things like machine learning and increasingly smart AI.
Data science: the basics
Although the term 'data scientist' was only 'officially' coined in 2008, the field as a discipline is actually pretty old, building on the work that statisticians have been doing for years.
It might seem like "machine learning algorithms were just invented last week and data was never 'big' until Google came along" but that just isn't the case.
Everything that is being developed now is building on what came before and based on decades, or even centuries, of work done by all of the statisticians, computer scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and other scientists who have already paved the way.
With this in mind, perhaps a better way to think about data science in today's context is to think about the basic definition and remit of the subject, alongside the contemporary environment and technologies that now allow us to take it to the next level.
Like data science 2.0.
While there's nothing new about fundamental statistical methods or the process of carrying out a linear regression, and programming languages have been around for decades now, what is new is the way in which these different disciplines are leveraging technology and coming together in order to allow us to process, analyze, and understand the masses of data that we now have access to.
Since data science is a multidisciplinary field, it's important to have a well-rounded skill set and if you're interested in actually becoming a data scientist, experience in the following is recommended:
Statistics and math
Most data science projects will go something like this: you have a question to answer or a problem to solve, you get large amounts of data which you then run statistical analyses on.
Because the practice of data science is based on statistics and other mathematical concepts, having a basic understanding of statistics and math, particularly linear algebra, will help you immeasurably.
While it's theoretically possible that you can do some data science without having a basic mathematical understanding, it's really not recommended. Understanding why you're getting the results that you are is essential and it's nearly impossible to do this without understanding the mathematical basis underpinning whatever algorithm you're using. Moreover, you'll have no way of knowing whether your findings are actually correct or what implications they may have for the bigger picture.
When it comes to working with large sets of data, computers just do it better. Plus, the bulk of data that humans produce daily is digital, which means it exists in the realm of computers. Therefore, being able to communicate with computers and make them do what you want is a key part of data science.
When it comes to data science there are two primary languages you should know about: R and Python. If you're interested in learning Python check out this series for beginners that covers installing Python and Anaconda, alongside the essential elements of Python.
Data wrangling
Again, data science is about data, so it's logical that working with data will be one of the first things to learn. Data wrangling, also known as data munging, involves collecting, cleaning, preparing, manipulating, and moving data around. This is the decidely un-sexy part of data science and IRL will probably take up about 80% of your time. It also requires accuracy to prevent errors in your analysis.
Machine learning is a sub-discipline of artificial intelligence, however, there is significant overlap with data science, such as deep learning, clustering algorithms, and decision trees. Machine learning certainly has more to offer than data science uses, however, machine learning algorithms are rich and powerful tools that should be in a data scientist's toolbox.
Domain expertise
While you can run every algorithm or statistical analysis out there, the real value is in interpretation. This is where domain expertise, or area knowledge, comes in. Being able to understand the context that the data you're analysing exists within and how your numeric findings apply to real life is the whole point of being a data scientist. From biologists to art historians to political scientists to botanists – data science can be applied to pretty much any field out there so the sky's the limit when it comes to choosing which area to become an expert in.
Perhaps the "softest" of the areas that a data scientist should be experienced in, communication skills might also be one of the most important. Being able to communicate and present your findings to team members, engineers, decision makers, and others who have never seen your data is key. Doing so in clear language with appropriate, accurate, and compelling data visualizations will bring your game to the next level.
Working with CSV files in Python
What is Robotics?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Ph.D in Mathematics from Berkeley.
2006 A Resource for Transition Year Mathematics Teachers.
1992 Differential Calculus and Integral Calculus.
2003 Articles on George Boole and Francis Edgeworth.
2012 Magical Mathematics, by Persi Diaconis and Ron Graham and published by Princeton University Press.
2003 Book review of St. Peter's Church: A quasi history.
2001 Book review of The streets and Lanes of Drogheda (second edition), by James Garry.
2001 Creators of Mathematics: The Irish Connection, edited by Ken Houston and published by UCD Press.
2000 Book review of The Cord Cemetery: history and tombstone inscriptions, by James Garry.
2015 William Rowan Hamilton - Ireland's Liberator of Algebra.
2017 Unsolved problems in mathematics and their educational value.
2013 Freedom in mathematics and its educational value.
2012 The story of number.
2009 The Importance of being Beautiful in Mathematics.
2006 William Rowan Hamilton and the Quaternion walk.
2005 William Rowan Hamilton (1805-1865): Ireland's greatest mathematician.
2011 History of Mathematics Conference.


Fitness Solutions' sand sac and training sled resistance trainer is the perfect tool for those looking to develop lower body muscle groups, including the glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves and hips. Commonly used for intense strength training in Crossfit gyms and football, weighted sled resistance training builds speed, explosiveness, core strength and power. Add up to five 8-lb weight bags to each sled and use this durable resistance trainer outdoors on any surface or indoors where it's also safe for use on your gym floors.


text:
RSpec::Matchers.define :require_graphql_authorizations do |*expected|
  match do |klass|
    permissions = if klass.respond_to?(:required_permissions)
                    klass.required_permissions
                  else
                    [klass.to_graphql.metadata[:authorize]]
                  end

    expect(permissions).to eq(expected)
  end
end

RSpec::Matchers.define :have_graphql_fields do |*expected|
  def expected_field_names
    Array.wrap(expected).map { |name| GraphqlHelpers.fieldnamerize(name) }
  end

  @allow_extra = false

  chain :only do
    @allow_extra = false
  end

  chain :at_least do
    @allow_extra = true
  end

  match do |kls|
    if @allow_extra
      expect(kls.fields.keys).to include(*expected_field_names)
    else
      expect(kls.fields.keys).to contain_exactly(*expected_field_names)
    end
  end

  failure_message do |kls|
    missing = expected_field_names - kls.fields.keys
    extra = kls.fields.keys - expected_field_names

    message = []

    message << "is missing fields: <#{missing.inspect}>" if missing.any?
    message << "contained unexpected fields: <#{extra.inspect}>" if extra.any? && !@allow_extra

    message.join("\n")
  end
end

RSpec::Matchers.define :include_graphql_fields do |*expected|
  expected_field_names = expected.map { |name| GraphqlHelpers.fieldnamerize(name) }

  match do |kls|
    expect(kls.fields.keys).to include(*expected_field_names)
  end

  failure_message do |kls|
    missing = expected_field_names - kls.fields.keys
    "is missing fields: <#{missing.inspect}>" if missing.any?
  end
end

RSpec::Matchers.define :have_graphql_field do |field_name, args = {}|
  match do |kls|
    field = kls.fields[GraphqlHelpers.fieldnamerize(field_name)]

    expect(field).to be_present

    args.each do |argument, value|
      expect(field.send(argument)).to eq(value)
    end
  end
end

RSpec::Matchers.define :have_graphql_mutation do |mutation_class|
  match do |mutation_type|
    field = mutation_type.fields[GraphqlHelpers.fieldnamerize(mutation_class.graphql_name)]

    expect(field).to be_present
    expect(field.resolver).to eq(mutation_class)
  end
end

# note: connection arguments do not have to be named, they will be inferred.
RSpec::Matchers.define :have_graphql_arguments do |*expected|
  include GraphqlHelpers

  def expected_names(field)
    @names ||= Array.wrap(expected).map { |name| GraphqlHelpers.fieldnamerize(name) }

    if field.type.try(:ancestors)&.include?(GraphQL::Types::Relay::BaseConnection)
      @names | %w(after before first last)
    else
      @names
    end
  end

  match do |field|
    names = expected_names(field)

    expect(field.arguments.keys).to contain_exactly(*names)
  end

  failure_message do |field|
    names = expected_names(field)

    "expected that #{field.name} would have the following fields: #{names.inspect}, but it has #{field.arguments.keys.inspect}."
  end
end

RSpec::Matchers.define :have_graphql_type do |expected|
  match do |field|
    expect(field.type).to eq(expected)
  end
end

RSpec::Matchers.define :have_non_null_graphql_type do |expected|
  match do |field|
    expect(field.type.to_graphql).to eq(!expected.to_graphql)
  end
end

RSpec::Matchers.define :have_graphql_resolver do |expected|
  match do |field|
    case expected
    when Method
      expect(field.to_graphql.metadata[:type_class].resolve_proc).to eq(expected)
    else
      expect(field.to_graphql.metadata[:type_class].resolver).to eq(expected)
    end
  end
end

RSpec::Matchers.define :have_graphql_extension do |expected|
  match do |field|
    expect(field.to_graphql.metadata[:type_class].extensions).to include(expected)
  end
end

RSpec::Matchers.define :expose_permissions_using do |expected|
  match do |type|
    permission_field = type.fields['userPermissions']

    expect(permission_field).not_to be_nil
    expect(permission_field.type).to be_non_null
    expect(permission_field.type.of_type.graphql_name).to eq(expected.graphql_name)
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Conrad Stansilaus Dias (born 19 November 1969) is the judge of Kerala High Court. The High Court of Kerala is the highest court in the Indian state of Kerala and in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep. The High Court of Kerala is headquartered at Ernakulam, Kochi.

Early life
Dias was born in Ernakulam, Kerala, to Adv.R.G.Dias and Phyllis Dias. He is an Anglo-Indian. He did his schooling at the Kendriya Vidyalaya, Ernakulam. He secured his law degree from Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram in 1992.

Career
Dias completed his law in 1992 and started practicing as a lawyer in the High Court of Kerala. He specialised in the fields of Civil, Constitutional, Family and Arbitration laws. He served as counsel for High Court of Kerala from 2016–2019; Retainer Standing Counsel for the Ministry of Railways from 2010 to 2019; Central Government Counsel from 2012- 2015; Standing Counsel for the Indian Oil Corporation from 2006–2019; member of the National Advisory Committee to the Ministry of Women and Child Development  2018 - 2019. He was appointed as amicus curiae by the High Court in several cases, including the Puttingal fireworks tragedy case. On 18 November 2019 he was appointed as additional judge of the High Court of Kerala. He was made a permanent judge of the High Court of Kerala on 25 May 2021.

References

External links
 High Court of Kerala

Living people
Judges of the Kerala High Court
21st-century Indian judges
1969 births
Indian judges
Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram alumni

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
OC nursing graduates raring to go - Odessa American: Odessa College
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OC nursing graduates raring to go
Ruth Campbell|Odessa American
OAT120619_OCgraduates_cmyk.jpg
Miguel Reyes and Nicolette Lawler are ready for careers in nursing. They will graduate Saturday from Odessa College. Commencements are set for 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday at the OC Sports Center.
Odessa College Vocational Nursing
Posted: Thursday, December 5, 2019 3:35 pm
OC nursing graduates raring to go By Ruth Campbell rcampbell@oaoa.com Odessa American
Posted on Dec 5, 2019
by Ruth Campbell
Two Odessa College nursing graduate candidates are raring to go once they get their degrees.
Nicolette Lawler, 26, is going for associate degree of nursing and Miguel Reyes, 19, is in the licensed vocational nurse to registered nurse transition program.
Lawler is working at Midland Memorial Hospital in the emergency room and Reyes is in critical care at Medical Center Hospital. OC Executive Director of Marketing and Communications Frank Rich said Reyes is poised to become the youngest RN in the state.
Reyes said graduation, which is scheduled for 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday at the Odessa College Sports Center, came up really fast.
Lawler said it has taken her three and a half years to get to this point because of prerequisites and waiting to get into the program.
"… It felt like it drug so long, (but) this semester it's like I blinked and it was over," said Lawler who is the mother of two young girls.
Reyes, who went through the LVN program at Andrews High School, said he is used to planning his week out ahead of time.
"And to know there's no tests, it's kind of like an empty feeling," Reyes said.
He added that it doesn't feel real because he's been in school his whole life.
Both Lawler and Reyes still have to take the NCLEX, the National Council Licensure Examination, which determines if it is safe for you to begin practice as an entry-level nurse, according to the Kaplan Nursing website.
Lawler said she feels OC has prepared them well for nursing. She said one of the best things OC has done is implement the ATI, or Assessment Technologies Institute, which is used to predict success on the NCLEX.
"… That has given me a lot of confidence going into nursing. We've had a bunch of tests that we have to take and modules that we can do to get more tools and knowledge and we just got done taking our NCLEX predictor that tells us what they feel like our chances of passing NCLEX are. I was able to get a 99 percent chance of passing NCLEX, which is really, really cool because I felt like I knew nothing," Lawler said.
She added that you study so much you wonder how much you really know.
Reyes wants to specialize in critical care nursing.
"I like to know and be able to fix things myself. I feel like as a critical care nurse you're more on your critical thinking and your actions at the moment that can save someone's life," he said.
Lawler describes herself as an "ER fanatic."
"I love the fast pace, the chaos, the stress of you have to know your stuff and you have to be on top of your game. I love that go, go, go; push you until you want to break kind of pressure, so I really enjoy the ER," she said.
Lawler added that she's looking forward to graduation.
"I'm excited and I'm proud. It's been a really, really hard road. People tell you that nursing school is hard and it's going to be hard, but I don't think you really know just how hard it is until you get there and to finally feel like I made it I survived; I'm here. It's a big feeling and it's a lot to take in and it's very surreal. Like I said, I can't believe it's going to be over and that I finally did it and I'm going to have this degree. For me, it's just a very rewarding feeling," she said.
Reyes said he owes his interest in nursing to his mother, who was a medical assistant at Medical Center.
"Whenever she heard of the program that Andrews High School was offering she told me that I really needed to look into it and at first I didn't know. I was going to do accounting because I was really a numbers guy and then I took a look into the program. I went ahead and followed through the interview. I've always been the type of person that if I'm going to start something, I'm going to finish it so whenever I completed the two years … it was a big door of opportunities that was opened to me …," Reyes said.
Lawler said her mother was a nurse and people said she would be good at it. She also said she thought she would enjoy it.
"… I didn't really realize how much I would like it until I got there. Then I remember right after my first semester, I stepped foot into an emergency room at Midland Memorial and got to start working there and I fell so in love with it I thought, 'Oh my gosh! Why didn't I do this sooner?'"
"Everybody who goes into nursing to some extent wants to help people and I do think that is a lot of it. You have to have that want to help somebody and make a difference. … For me, it was watching how the body works and all these complex systems and knowing that my hard work, my dedication really was going to make a difference in somebody's life and could mean the difference between a poor outcome and a good outcome for them. That's a lot weight to carry, but it's a very rewarding feeling when you put a lot into it and then you have the successes," Lawler added.
Ruth Campbell covers education for the Odessa American. Reach her at 432-333-7765 or rcampbell@oaoa.com
Posted in Odessa College, Local News on Thursday, December 5, 2019 3:35 pm. | Tags: Odessa College, Oc, Nursing, Graduation, Midland Memorial Hospital, Nicolette Lawler, Miguel Reyes, Frank Rich
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READ MORE – BDCA and EVCA teams for this weekend MANDURANG faces a testing weekend in the Emu Valley Cricket Association as it battles a pair of rival teams in the top four. The Rangas take on second-placed Spring Gully on day one of round nine starting Saturday. And the Rangas will also be in action on Sunday in a one-day match when they meet third-placed Emu Creek, with both matches away games. The Rangas sit in fourth position on the ladder with a 4-2-1 record and have a two-game buffer to Marong, Maiden Gully and United, who are all on 30 points. MORE CRICKET – Dragons gearing up for tough stretch of matches, starting against Square • Round nine games: Sedgwick v West Bendigo United v California Gully Spring Gully v Mandurang Maiden Gully v Marong Sunday one-dayer – Emu Creek v Mandurang ……………………………….. Ladder: 1. Sedgwick – 96 2. Spring Gully – 72 3. Emu Creek – 72 4. Mandurang – 54 5. Marong – 30 6. Maiden Gully – 30 7. United – 30 8. West Bendigo – 24 9. California Gully – 0 ……………………………….. Addy MVP leaderboard: 753 – Rhys Webb (Spring Gully) 706 – Luke Bennett (Emu Creek) 652 – Todd Brown (Emu Creek) 552 – Harry Whittle (United) 548 – Matt Pask (Mandurang) 516 – Alex Sutton (Spring Gully) 487 – Dallas Gill (Maiden Gully) 483 – James Pietromonaco (Mandurang) 477 – Greg Thomas (Sedgwick) THE Northern United Cricket Association swings back into Twenty20 action on Saturday. The NUCA will play the last of three rounds of Twenty20 games after the first two were played in October. The T20 grand final will be played next Saturday. • Saturday's games, 2pm: Raywood v Colbinabbin Bagshot v Calivil Heathcote v Goornong Elmore v Dingee • Twenty20 ladder: 1. Raywood Points: 18 NRR: +2.95 2. Bagshot Points: 18 NRR: +0.49 3. Dingee Points: 18 NRR: 0.00 4. Elmore Points: 18 NRR: 0.00 5. Colbinabbin Points: 6 NRR: -0.49 6. Calivil Points: 6 NRR: -2.95 7. Heathcote Points: 0 NRR: 0.00 8. Goornong Points: 0 NRR: 0.00 ………………………………… Round 12 in Upper Loddon Cricket Association continues Saturday. State of play: Newbridge v Bridgewater 250 Serpentine v Kingower 254 Inglewood 229 v Boort-Yando Wedderburn v Arnold 9-312 Have you signed up to the Bendigo Advertiser's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in central Victoria.
MANDURANG faces a testing weekend in the Emu Valley Cricket Association as it battles a pair of rival teams in the top four.
The Rangas take on second-placed Spring Gully on day one of round nine starting Saturday.
And the Rangas will also be in action on Sunday in a one-day match when they meet third-placed Emu Creek, with both matches away games.
The Rangas sit in fourth position on the ladder with a 4-2-1 record and have a two-game buffer to Marong, Maiden Gully and United, who are all on 30 points.
THE Northern United Cricket Association swings back into Twenty20 action on Saturday.
The NUCA will play the last of three rounds of Twenty20 games after the first two were played in October.
The T20 grand final will be played next Saturday.
Round 12 in Upper Loddon Cricket Association continues Saturday.


Why not use Screen sharing on Mac (at least leopard)? Yes, it takes a little configuration, including knowing the IP (or setting up a dynamic IP). But not much more than that.
It's the configuration stuff that's the hurdle -- also that my mother's on 10.4 and I'd rather not upgrade her unless there's a real value until we get to 10.5.7 or so.
I really need something that requires no action on her part at all.
John, have you considered LogMeIn Free? It should let you connect to her without her intervention.
I love Copilot and MacHelpMate, but LMI has managed most of what we've tried to throw at it.


text:
Raczki – wieś w Polsce, położona w województwie podlaskim, w powiecie suwalskim, siedziba gminy Raczki.

Dawniej miasto; uzyskały lokację miejską przed 1558 rokiem, zdegradowane w 1870 roku. Do 1954 Raczki były siedzibą gminy Dowspuda. W latach 1975–1998 położone były w województwie suwalskim.

Geografia
Raczki leżą na Suwalszczyźnie, na wysokim prawym brzegu rzeki Rospudy. Na północ od Raczek znajduje się jezioro rynnowe Bolesty.

Komunikacja
Przez wieś przechodzi droga wojewódzka nr 655: Suwałki – Olecko – Giżycko. Północnym skrajem miejscowości przebiega linia kolejowa Suwałki – Olecko, która obecnie nie obsługuje ruchu pasażerskiego.

Historia
Wieś została założona w głębi puszczy pojaćwieskiej w początkach XVI wieku i początkowo nosiła nazwę Dowspuda, podobnie jak rzeka przy której ją umiejscowiono. Powstała w dobrach braci Stanisława i Mikołaja Michnowiczów Raczkowiczów, nadanych im przez Zygmunta I Starego w 1514. Od ich nazwiska pochodzi nazwa miejscowości. Dokumenty już w 1558 wymieniają Dowspudę Raczkowską jako miasteczko, położone przy trakcie handlowym z Grodna do Prus. Wtedy też założono parafię i zbudowano kościół.

W 1682 Raczki otrzymały od Jana III Sobieskiego przywilej urządzania cotygodniowego targu i dwóch jarmarków rocznie. W 1703 roku Raczki uzyskały prawa miejskie od Augusta II.

W 1748 Raczki nabył hrabia Józef Pac, a w 1797 dobra przejął jego syn Ludwik Michał Pac i od tego czasu miasto odnotowało dynamiczny rozwój. Nowy właściciel miał ambicję stworzyć z Raczek centrum handlowe, przemysłowe i usługowe dla swoich posiadłości. Wzniesiono wtedy wiele nowych budynków, zajazd, a także manufaktury: serowarnię, garbarnię, bielarnię płótna oraz fabrykę obrusów i serwet, które działały aż do 1831. Rozwój przemysłu spowodował napływ ludności do pracy; również sam Pac sprowadzał do swoich fabryk wykwalifikowanych rzemieślników z Niemiec, Anglii i Szkocji. W 1818 założono w Raczkach szkołę, w której ze względu na nowych osadników nauczano również języka angielskiego i niemieckiego. Liczba ludności wzrosła wówczas do 2500.

Po klęsce powstania listopadowego Ludwik Pac wyemigrował, a jego dobra zostały skonfiskowane przez rząd carski – wtedy Raczki zaczęły podupadać. Zlikwidowano fabryki, rozebrano zajazd. W 1839 wzniesiono jednopiętrowy ratusz z wieżyczką, jednak po powstaniu styczniowym i on został rozebrany. W 1870 Raczki utraciły prawa miejskie, a w 1888 zabudowę strawił wielki pożar.

Koniec XIX wieku przyniósł odbudowywanym Raczkom ponowne ożywienie gospodarcze, dzięki rozwojowi handlu z Prusami. I wojna światowa to okres kolejnych zniszczeń, jednak po jej zakończeniu miejscowość pozostaje punktem handlowym z Niemcami oraz siedzibą gminy i dzięki temu nie popada w stagnację. Według Powszechnego Spisu Ludności z 1921 roku Raczki (wraz z kolonią Serebranka) zamieszkiwane były przez 1558 osób, wśród których 980 zadeklarowało wyznanie rzymskokatolickie, 5 prawosławne, 21 ewangelickie, 19 inne chrześcijańskie a 533 mojżeszowe. Jednocześnie 1020 mieszkańców zadeklarowało polską przynależność narodową, 5 białoruską, 17 niemiecką, 10 inną a 506 żydowską.

Był tu kościół katolicki i synagoga (w trakcie II wojny światowej została zniszczona, obecnie nie istnieje). Działał Związek Kupców. W 1937 wybudowano nowoczesną mleczarnię, rozwijał się ruch spółdzielczy.

W czasie II wojny światowej Raczki znalazły się pod okupacją niemiecką i stanowiły silny punkt oporu okupantów. Na skarpie Rospudy Niemcy wybudowali schrony i umocnienia. W wyniku działań wojennych prawie połowa zabudowy Raczek została zniszczona.

Zabytki

Do rejestru zabytków Narodowego Instytutu Dziedzictwa wpisane są następujące obiekty:
 zachowany szesnastowieczny miejski układ przestrzenny, z brukowanym, prostokątnym rynkiem (nr rej.: A-986 z 23.03.1994)
 neogotycko-klasycystyczny kościół parafialny z lat 1767–1811 (nr rej.: 118 z 30.04.1958 oraz 507 z 23.06.1986)
 cmentarz parafialny rzymskokatolicki (nr rej.: 493 z 15.05.1986)

Przy rynku zachowały się parterowe kamieniczki z XIX wieku. Największą atrakcją turystyczną okolic Raczek są ruiny neogotyckiego pałacu Paców w Dowspudzie.

Kościół parafialny
Budowę świątyni, pierwotnie w stylu barokowym, rozpoczęto po spłonięciu poprzedniego kościoła w 1765. Nie została jednak zakończona. Kontynuował budowę dopiero Ludwik Michał Pac w 1811, już w stylu neogotyckim, według projektu Piotra Aignera. Kolejnej gruntownej przebudowy kościoła w stylu neoklasycznym dokonał Henryk Marconi w latach 1823–24.

Wyposażeniem i zdobnictwem wnętrz zajmował się zespół tych samych artystów włoskich, którzy pracowali przy pałacu Paca w Dowspudzie. Ściany i sklepienia pokryto polichromią. Poza ołtarzem głównym w kościele znajdowało się 8 ołtarzy bocznych, po 4 z każdej strony. Wszystkie były wyposażone w rzeźby i obrazy. Pod koniec XIX wieku kościół w Raczkach otrzymał od przebywającego wtedy na Suwalszczyźnie Wojciecha Gersona dwa obrazy: jeden przedstawiał św. Franciszka, drugi – Madonnę z Dzieciątkiem.

W latach 1933–34 dobudowano dwie nawy boczne, co zmieniło całkowicie bryłę kościoła i zubożyło jego wnętrze. Zmniejszono do czterech liczbę ołtarzy. W oknach prezbiterium umieszczono kolorowe witraże, z których jeden przedstawiał Ludwika Paca w mundurze generała wojsk polskich. Podczas II wojny światowej witraże zostały zniszczone, podobnie jak rotunda stanowiąca dzwonnicę.

Obecny wystrój kościoła stanowią między innymi dwie płaskorzeźby z białego marmuru, stanowiące typowe stele grobowe. Pierwotnie miały być umieszczone w kaplicy pałacu w Dowspudzie. Uważane są za dzieło któregoś z uczniów i współpracowników rzeźbiarza Antonio Canovy, być może Lodovico Kaufmana. Innymi zabytkami sztuki sakralnej są: drewniana rzeźba św. Jana Nepomucena z 1842, dwa krzyże ołtarzowe z brązu i cztery mosiężne lichtarze z 2. połowy XIX wieku.

Zobacz też
 Raczki Elbląskie, Raczki Wielkie
 Cmentarz żydowski w Moczydłach

Przypisy

Bibliografia
 Zygmunt Filipowicz, 1980, Suwalszczyzna. Panorama turystyczna, Warszawa, Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza, ss. 101–105
 Józef Kuran, 1976, Kajakiem po jeziorach augustowskich i suwalskich, Warszawa, Sport i Turystyka, s. 173–174

Linki zewnętrzne

 Gmina Raczki – Oficjalny serwis internetowy
 Nieoficjalna strona po angielsku

 Cerkiew Cudownego Obrazu Zbawiciela

Dawne miasta w województwie podlaskim
Miasta w Polsce lokowane w XVI wieku


text:
Category: Teaching
Research Results, R coding, and mistakes you can blame on your research assistant
I have just graded and returned the second lab assignment for my introductory research methods class in International Studies (IS240). The lab required the students to answer questions using the help of the R statistical program (which, you may not know, is every pirate's favourite statistical program).
The final homework problem asked students to find a question in the World Values Survey (WVS) that tapped into homophobic sentiment and determine which of four countries under study–Canada, Egypt, Italy, Thailand–could be considered to be the most homophobic, based only on that single question.
More than a handful of you used the code below to try and determine how the respondents in each country answered question v38. First, here is a screenshot from the WVS codebook:
Students (rightfully, I think) argued that those who mentioned "Homosexuals" amongst the groups of people they would not want as neighbours can be considered to be more homophobic than those who didn't mention homosexuals in their responses. (Of course, this may not be the case if there are different levels of social desirability bias across countries.) Moreover, students hypothesized that the higher the proportion of mentions of homosexuals, the more homophobic is that country.
But, when it came time to find these proportions some students made a mistake. Let's assume that the student wanted to know the proportion of Canadian respondents who mentioned (and didn't mention) homosexuals as persons they wouldn't want to have as neighbours.
Here is the code they used (four.df is the data frame name, v38 is the variable in question, and country is the country variable):
prop.table(table(four.df$v38=="mentioned" | four.df$country=="canada"))
FALSE     TRUE
Thus, these students concluded that almost 63% of Canadian respondents mentioned homosexuals as persons they did not want to have as neighbours. That's downright un-neighbourly of us allegedly tolerant Canadians, don'tcha think?. Indeed, when compared with the other two countries (Egyptians weren't asked this question), Canadians come off as more homophobic than either the Italians or the Thais.
prop.table(table(four.df$v38=="mentioned" | four.df$country=="italy"))
FALSE      TRUE
0.6106025 0.3893975
prop.table(table(four.df$v38=="mentioned" | four.df$country=="thailand"))
So, is it true that Canadians are really more homophobic than either Italians or Thais? This may be a simple homework assignment but these kinds of mistakes do happen in the real academic world, and fame (and sometimes even fortune–yes, even in academia a precious few can make a relative fortune) is often the result as these seemingly unconventional findings often cause others to notice. There is an inherent publishing bias towards results that seem to run contrary to conventional wisdom (or bias). The finding that Canadians (widely seen as amongst the most tolerant of God's children) are really quite homophobic (I mean, close to 2/3 of us allegedly don't want homosexuals, or any LGBT persons, as neighbours) is radical and a researcher touting these findings would be able to locate a willing publisher in no time!
But, what is really going on here? Well, the problem is a single incorrect symbol that changes the findings dramatically. Let's go back to the code:
The culprit is the | ("or") character. What these students are asking R to do is to search their data and find the proportion of all responses for which the respondent either mentioned that they wouldn't want homosexuals as neighbours OR the respondent is from Canada. Oh, oh! They should have used the & symbol instead of the | symbol to get the proportion of Canadian who mentioned homosexuals in v38.
To understand visually what's happening let's take a look at the following venn diagram (see the attached video above for Ali G's clever use of what he calls "zenn" diagrams to find the perfect target market for his "ice cream glove" idea; the code for how to create this diagram in R is at the end of this post). What we want is the intersection of the blue and red areas (the purple area). What the students' coding has given us is the sum of (all of!) the blue and (all of!) the red areas.
To get the raw number of Canadians who answered "mentioned" to v38 we need the following code:
table(four.df$v38=="mentioned" & four.df$v2=="canada")
FALSE  TRUE
7457   304
But what if you then created a proportional table out of this? You still wouldn't get the correct answer, which should be the proportion that the purple area on the venn diagram comprises of the total red area.
prop.table(table(four.df$v38=="mentioned" & four.df$v2=="canada"))
FALSE       TRUE
0.96082979 0.03917021
Just eyeballing the venn diagram we can be sure that the proportion of homophobic Canadians is larger than 3.9%. What we need is the proportion of Canadian respondents only(!) who mentioned homosexuals in v38. The code for that is:
prop.table(table(four.df$v38[four.df$v2=="canada"]))
mentioned not mentioned
0.1404806     0.8595194
So, only about 14% of Canadians can be considered to have given a homophobic response, not the 62% our students had calculated. What are the comparative results for Italy and Thailand, respectively?
prop.table(table(four.df$v38[four.df$v2=="italy"]))
0.235546      0.764454
prop.table(table(four.df$v38[four.df$v2=="thailand"]))
The moral of the story: if you mistakenly find something in your data that runs against conventional wisdom and it gets published, but someone comes along after publication and demonstrates that you've made a mistake, just blame it on a poorly-paid research assistant's coding mistake.
Here's a way to do the above using what is called a for loop:
four<-c("canada","egypt","italy","thailand")
for (i in 1:length(four)) {
+ print(prop.table(table(four.df$v38[four.df$v2==four[i]])))
+ print(four[i])
[1] "canada"
[1] "egypt"
[1] "italy"
[1] "thailand"
Here's the R code to draw the venn diagram above:
install.packages("venneuler")
library(venneuler}
v1<-venneuler(c("Mentioned"=sum(four.df$v38=="mentioned",na.rm=T),"Canada"=sum(four.df$v2=="canada",na.rm=T),"Mentioned&Canada"=sum(four.df$v2=="canada" & four.df$v38=="mentioned",na.rm=T)))
plot(v1,main="Venn Diagram of Canada and v38 from WVS", sub="v38='I wouldn't want to live next to a homosexual'", col=c("blue","red"))
Author jdPosted on 19 Feb 2014 19 Feb 2014 Categories Assignment, IS 240, R, Research Methods, Student Stuff, TeachingTags Using R for International Studies
More on Qualitative Research Analysis
50-foot Jesus statue in front of an abortion clinic
In IS240 on Monday we looked at some of the characteristics of qualitative research methods. such as i) it is inductive, ii) normally interpretivist, and iii) qualitative researchers view constructionist ontological viewpoints. A final characteristic of most qualitative research is that its approach is naturalistic. As the textbook notes:
…qualitative researchers try to minimize the disturbance they cause to the social worlds they study.
We can see the nature of this quality implicitly teased out by Lori Freedman, who discusses some of the research she did for her Master's degree. Freedman writes about the relationship between abortion and religion (it's not what you're expecting) and the time she spent observing in a hospital that performed abortions. Here's the part related to her research methods:
Claudia [a deeply religious Catholic woman who was having an abortion–JD] told me this story 13 years ago, while I was conducting ethnographic research as a participant-observer in a hospital-based abortion service. I spent considerable time there helping, observing, and intermittently conducting as many interviews as I could with counselors, doctors, and nurses, in order to gain a rich view of abortion clinic life. This study became my master's thesis, but nothing else. I feared publication might amount to a gratuitous exposé of people I respected dearly. I couldn't think of any policy or academic imperative that necessitated revealing the intimate dynamics of this particular social world—certainly nothing that could make the potential feelings of betrayal worthwhile. Ultimately, I just tucked it away.
Author jdPosted on 19 Feb 2014 18 Feb 2014 Categories Qualitative Analysis, Research Methods, Teaching, UncategorizedTags abortion, Religion
'Thick Description' and Qualitative Research Analysis
In Chapter 8 of Bryman, Beel, and Teevan, the authors discuss qualitative research methods and how to do qualitative research. In a subsection entitled Alternative Criteria for Evaluating Qualitative Research, the authors reference Lincoln and Guba's thoughts on how to assess the reliability, validity, and objectivity of qualitative research. Lincoln and Guba argue that these well-known criteria (which developed from the need to evaluate quantitative research) do not transfer well to qualitative research. Instead, they argue for evaluative criteria such as credibility, transferability, and objectivity.
Saharan Caravan Routes–The dotted red lines in the above map are caravan routes connecting the various countries of North Africa including Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Mali, Niger and Chad. Many of the main desert pistes and tracks of today were originally camel caravan routes. (What do the green, yellow, and brown represent?)
Transferability is the extent to which qualitative research 'holds in some other context' (the quants reading this will immediately realize that this is analogous to the concept of the 'generalizability of results' in the quantitative realm). The authors argue that whether qualitative research fulfills this criterion is not a theoretical, but an empirical issue. Moreover, they argue that rather than worrying about transferability, qualitative researchers should produce 'thick descriptions' of phenomena. The term thick description is most closely associated with the anthropologist Clifford Geertz (and his work in Bali). Thick description can be defined as:
the detailed accounts of a social setting or people's experiences that can form the basis for general statements about a culture and its significance (meaning) in people's lives.
Compare this account (thick description) by Geertz of the caravan trades in Morocco at the turn of the 20th century to how a quantitative researcher may explain the same institution:
In the narrow sense, a zettata (from the Berber TAZETTAT, 'a small piece of cloth') is a passage toll, a sum paid to a local power…for protection when crossing localities where he is such a power. But in fact it is, or more properly was, rather more than a mere payment. It was part of a whole complex of moral rituals, customs with the force of law and the weight of sanctity—centering around the guest-host, client-patron, petitioner-petitioned, exile-protector, suppliant-divinity relations—all of which are somehow of a package in rural Morocco. Entering the tribal world physically, the outreaching trader (or at least his agents) had also to enter it culturally.
Despite the vast variety of particular forms through which they manifest themselves, the characteristics of protection in tbe Berber societies of the High and Middle Atlas are clear and constant. Protection is personal, unqualified, explicit, and conceived of as the dressing of one man in the reputation of another. The reputation may be political, moral, spiritual, or even idiosyncratic, or, often enough, all four at once. But the essential transaction is that a man who counts 'stands up and says' (quam wa qal, as the classical tag bas it) to those to whom he counts: 'this man is mine; harm him and you insult me; insult me and you will answer for it.' Benediction (the famous baraka),hospitality, sanctuary, and safe passage are alike in this: they rest on the perhaps somewhat paradoxical notion that though personal identity is radically individual in both its roots and its expressions, it is not incapable of being stamped onto tbe self of someone else. (Quoted in North (1991) Journal of Economic Perspectives, 5:1 p. 104.
Author jdPosted on 15 Feb 2014 14 Feb 2014 Categories Africa, Development, Economic development, Explanation, Institutions, IS 240, Markets, Methodology, O'Neil-Chapter 4, Political Economy, Readings, Research Methods, TeachingTags Institutions, Thick Description
A Virtual Trip to Myanmar for my Research Methods Class
For IS240 next week, (Intro to Research Methods in International Studies) we will be discussing qualitative research methods. We'll address components of qualitative research and review issues related to reliability and validity and use these as the basis for an in-class activity.
The activity will require students to have viewed the following short video clips, all of which introduce the viewer to contemporary Myanmar. Some of you may know already that Myanmar (Burma) has been transitioning from rule by military dictatorship to democracy. Here are three aspects of Myanmar society and politics. Please watch as we won't have time in class to watch all three clips. The clips themselves are not long (just over 3,5,and 8 minutes long, respectively).
The first clip shows the impact of heroin on the Kachin people of northern Myanmar:
http://video.globalpost.com/twistage-production/6e6e0f5d53ce0_6937241.mp4
The next clip is a short interview with a Buddhist monk on social relations in contemporary Myanmar:
http://video.globalpost.com/twistage-production/7aa370b239828_6066799.mp4
The final video clip is of the potential impact (good and bad) of increased international tourism to Myanmar's most sacred sites, one of which is Bagan.
http://video.globalpost.com/twistage-production/7781da9f01956_6067545.mp4
Author jdPosted on 14 Feb 2014 14 Feb 2014 Categories Asia, Asian Politics, Assignment, East Asia, Ethnic Conflict, Ethnic Violence, Ethnicity, Globalization, International Relations--PLSC250, IS 240, Nationalism, Pedagogy, Research Methods, Southeast Asia, TeachingTags Buddhist Nationalism, Myanmar, Myanmar-Heroin, Myanmar-Sacred Sites
Television makes us do crazy things…or does it?
During our second lecture in Research Methods, when asked to provide an example of a relational statement, one student offered the following:
Playing violent video games leads to more violent inter-personal behaviour by these game-playing individuals.
That's a great example, and we used this in class for a discussion of how we could go about testing whether this statement is true. We then surmised that watching violence on television may have similar effects, though watching is more passive than "playing", so there may not be as great an effect.
If television viewing can cause changes in our behaviour that are not socially productive, can it also lead viewers to change their behaviour in a positive manner? There's evidence to suggest that this may be true. In a recent study,
there is evidence to suggest that watching MTV's 16 and Pregnant show is associated with lower rates of teen pregnancy. What do you think about the research study?
Author jdPosted on 20 Jan 2014 21 Jan 2014 Categories Case Study, Data, Explanation, IS 240, Methodology, Research Methods, Teaching, UncategorizedTags 16 and Pregnant, Causal Analysis
Proportional Representation versus First-Past-the-Post
As we learned in POLI 1100 today, Canada is one of small number of countries that continues to have a first-past-the-post system for national elections. What this means is that we divide the country up into 308 single-member districts (divided principally on the basis of the "representation by population" principle), from each of which exactly one individual is elected to represent that district in the House of Commons in Ottawa. In our case, a winner only has to have a plurality of the vote in that district to be elected the winner. What this does is it tends to give larger parties overrepresentation in parliament based on their actual electoral strength. It also gives regionally-concentrated parties (like the Bloc Quebecois) overrepresentation in parliament vis-a-vis parties whose electoral support is more diffuse geographically.
As we can see from the 2008 federal election results, the Green Party received almost 7% of the total national vote, yet because the vote was dispersed across the whole of the country, did not receive a single mandate in the House of Commons. The Bloc Quebecois, meanwhile, gained 50 seats in parliament with a slightly larger percentage of the vote than the Greens! Why? Because the BQ's votes were geographically concentrated within a minority of ridings in the province of Quebec.
Turning now to the 2011 federal election, in which Stephen Harper's Conservative Party won a majority in the House of Commons with 166 seats (and 39.6% of the vote). See the results below.
What if, on the other hand, Canada had a proportional representation system in which each province was its own electoral district and seats for the House of Commons were apportioned on the basis of the relative proportion of votes won by each party in each province? What would the results look like? With the help of my students, we were able to calculate the hypothesized makeup of the House of Commons were Canada to have such an electoral system.
Notice that the total number of MPs for the Conservative Party has dropped considerably such that the party no longer has a majority in the House of Commons. In fact, no single party has a majority! In order to form a relatively stable government, the Conservatives would have to find willing coalition partners. Unfortunately for them, however, other than the BQ, there is no immediately suitable coalition partner, given the respective ideological stances of the parties in parliament. Even with the BQ, the Conservatives could not get a governing majority, coming up 15 seats short. An NDP/Liberal?Green coalition, on the other hand, would work both ideologically and in terms of numbers (166 seats, exactly the same number as the Conservatives have today).
Note also how much a proportional representation system would help the Green Party–from only 1 seat in the House to 11 seats!
Which system would you prefer? Do you think that we should maintain the status quo? Should we change to PR? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of each?
Author jdPosted on 7 Mar 2012 7 Mar 2012 Categories Case Study, Democracy, Elections and Voting, Pedagogy, POLI 1100, TeachingTags Canada-Election 2011, Canada-House of Commons, Canada-PR2 Comments on Proportional Representation versus First-Past-the-Post
Writing to your MP in Support of a Bill in the House of Commons
In POLI 1100, we have been discussing the concept and structure of legislatures. Near the end of Chapter 8 we looked at the path a bill has to traverse in Parliament before it becomes law (see Figure 8.2 of the Dyck textbook, p. 235). We viewed a video clip of MP Ruby Dhalla introducing a bill to amend the residency provisions of the OAS act. (If you don't know what OAS stands for, watch the short video.)
We have learned in the past couple of weeks that most of the contact that you, as a Canadian citizen, have with the government is via the political executive, whether at the provincial or federal level. Apart from voting for your MP (MLA), there is very little contact between you and the legislative branch of our government. This week's blog assignment can help change that. As I've noted on Blackboard, for this week's blog assignment you can choose to write on anything to do with "legislatures". You may, however, choose to write a letter to your MP (or any MP) in support (or opposition to) any bill that is currently in middle of the legislative process in Parliament. Here are the steps:
1. Go to http://www.parl.gc.ca (and select your language of choice):
2. Click on "Bills before Parliament" on the left (see the screenshot below). ("Projets de loi a l'etude au Parliament", en francais)
3. On the next page, you will see, amongst other things, a list of the "All Bills for the Current Session (41st Parliament, 1st Session). The Bills can be sorted by number (as seen below), or by "Latest Activity Date".
4. Find a Bill that interests you, and write a letter to the MP who is sponsoring the bill. Here's an example of a letter I wrote below:
Mr. Jean Rousseau, M.P. House of Commons
K1A 0A6
Cher Monsieur Rousseau:
I am writing to you in support of Bill C-312, The Democratic Representation Act, which is currently at the Second Reading state of the legislative process in the House of Commons. As I understand it, the bill is meant to assuage the concerns of the Quebecois regarding the province of Quebec's decreasing population, as a share of Canadian population as a whole. Bill C-312, should it be adopted into law, would maintain proportional representation of Quebec's delegation in the House of Commons at 2006 levels, regardless of the relative proportion of Quebec's population in the future.
While some might see this as anti-democratic in that this law would mandate a divergence from the idea that every citizen's vote should be counted equally, I believe that the the violation of this core principle is justified in this case. (Indeed, in many areas of politics and public policy, debates centre around clashes of competing (and contradictory), fundamentally legitimate–morally and politically–principles.) In this case, the competing principle is the protection of a strong Quebec, and Quebecois society, which I believe is of inestimable value to Canadian society as a whole.
In the view of this Canadian citizen, who since immigrating to this wonderful country as an infant, has lived in the western province of British Columbia (when not living outside the country), Canada's French heritage is an indispensable part of our country's unique heritage and is part of the basis for the creation of what is today (though we know it hasn't always been) a tolerant multicultural society, which is the envy of many around the world.
Josip (Joseph) Dasovic
Dept of History, Latin, and Political Science
Do you agree with my position? Should we violate the principle of "one-person, one-vote" in the way intended by Bill C-312?
Author jdPosted on 1 Mar 2012 1 Mar 2012 Categories Assignment, Civil Society, Democracy, Dyck-Chapter 8, Ethnicity, Identity, POLI 1100, TeachingTags Bill C-312, Democratic Representation Act, Quebec
Helpful series of videos explaining IR theory
If, like many beginning students of IR theory, you are stumped by some of the nuances of the various IR theories, there is a helpful set of videos in which IR experts try to explain the theories in everyday language. (H/t to a student of mine–sensnation–for alerting me to the existence of these videos.)
I've posted the video of Caleb Gallemore of The Ohio State University, who talks about constructivism. Among many other insights in this short video, Gallemore stresses that while realists take the existence of what they find in the world as a given–"all states want to increase their power", "we must stop at a red light"–constructivists understand that the world is "socially constructed" and would ask questions such as these: "what are states?", "why was red (and not some other colour) chosen as the `stop' colour?"
Have a look at this, and other videos in this series:
Author jdPosted on 30 Jan 2012 Categories International Security, IR Theory, Levels-of-Analysis, Mingst-Chapter 3, POLI 1140, TeachingTags Constructivism-Video
My Intro to IR Class is full of Realists
Last Tuesday in POLI 1140, the students completed an class oil-market exercise in which pairs of students engaged in a strategic situation that required them to sell oil at specific prices. Many students were able to understand relatively quickly that the "Oil Game" was an example of the classic prisoner's dilemma (PD). As Mingst and Arreguin-Toft note on page 78, the crucial point about the prisoner's dilemma:
Neither prisoner knows how the other will respond; the cost of not confessing if the other confesses is extraordinarily high. So both will confess, leading to a less-than-optimal outcome for both.
From a theoretical perspective (and empirical tests have generally confirmed this) there will likely be very little cooperation in one-shot prisoner's dilemma-type situations. Over repeated interaction, however, learning can contribute to higher levels of cooperation. With respect to IR theories, specifically, it is argued that realists are more likely to defect in PD situations as they are concerned with relative gains. Liberals, on the other hand, who value absolute gains more highly, are more likely to cooperate and create socially more optimal outcomes. What were the results in our class?
The graph above plots the level of cooperation across all six years (stages) of the exercise. There were seven groups and what the probabilities demonstrate is that in each year there was only one group for which the interaction was cooperative. In year 2, there was not a single instance of cooperation. Moreover, it was the same group that cooperated. Therefore, one of the groups cooperated 5 out of 6 years, while none of the other six groups cooperated a single time over the course of the sex years!! What a bunch of realists!!
If you were involved in this exercise, please let me know your reactions to what happened.
Author jdPosted on 27 Jan 2012 28 Jan 2012 Categories Explanation, Foreign Policy, IR Theory, Mingst-Chapter 3, POLI 1140, Rational Choice, Simulation, Teaching, UncategorizedTags In-class simulation-IR, prisoner's dilemma
Globalization is good…or is it?
Is globalization good for those in developing countries? What is the link between globalization and poverty? What about globalization and democracy? Today in IS210 we watched a documentary in which the narrator argued that more globalization is good for the poor in developing countries. He argued that countries that have (and are) globalizing, such as Taiwan and Vietnam, have become richer, more democratic, and poverty levels have plummeted. On the other hand, countries that haven't democratized, regardless of whether this is the result of domestic or external policy, have done poorly. They're less democratic and poorer than they otherwise could be.
Here's a link to the documentary, and some questions that you may want to think about:
Has globalization been beneficial or detrimental to Taiwan's economic development? Explain.
What role, according to the narrator, do multi-national corporations (MNCs) play in globalization? Should LDCs embrace the arrival of MNCs into their economies? How can the example of Vietnam inform our answers to these questions? Is there a link between MNCs and worker productivity?
According to the narrator, what was the role of sweatshops in the development of Taiwan's economy? Were they necessary?
What is the link between globalization and democracy? What is the process that causes this empirical link?
What is the reason for Africa's slow growth, according to the narrator? Which of Collier and Gunning's [from Chapter 9 of Essential Readings) four categories would apply? How does the situation of Kenya inform our answers to this question?
What is the eect of developing countries trade policies on economic outcomes in Kenya and in other parts of the developing world?
Author jdPosted on 8 Apr 2011 25 Jan 2012 Categories Africa, Asia, Assignment, Authoritarianism, Democracy, Development, East Asia, Economic development, Foreign Trade, Globalization, IS 210, Markets, O'Neil-Cjhapter 11, Southeast Asia, TeachingTags Kenya-Globalization, Nike, Norbert--Globalization, Sweatshops, Taiwan-Globalization, Vietnam-Globalization4 Comments on Globalization is good…or is it?


What future evolution of remote monitoring in the community will speed up its impact on hospital admission and bed occupancy?
The mission of our group is to connect people and organisations who have specific technology challenges in healthcare with potential solution providers from within the wider CW community.
In the healthcare market we are seeing a growing need for innovative technologies across the spectrum of care that allow people to be treated in their homes, enable independence, improve early diagnosis of disease, enhance patient outcomes and prevent disease progression.
We believe that it is important to raise awareness of these unmet needs across the CW community in order to identify solutions from organisations who can address them with innovative and effective technologies. The Healthcare SIG will support this process by identifying areas of mutual interest, exchanging information, and developing strong and effective links between member organisations.
We welcome input from CW members for our events so please do contact us.
Peter is director for healthcare technologies at Arm and has been actively involved in the delivery of mobile and healthcare solutions since starting his Medical Electronics PhD in 1994. Based in Cambridge, UK, Peter is responsible for driving Arm's health strategies in Medical Sensors and Genomics. His remit is helping the healthcare industry to utilize Arm's high efficiency technology in developing new products and services. Peter has more than 20 years' experience working in the healthcare, mobile tech and pharmaceutical technology market and has been instrumental in delivering innovative mobile health solutions including wearable ECG, Mobile Devices, Adverse Event Systems and Portal Hospital solutions in the UK and China.
Peter is currently Deputy Director and technology theme lead for the National Institute for Health, Health Technology Cooperative for Brain Injury. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians as well as a Fellow of IPEM. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Centre for Healthcare Photonics at the Centre for Process Innovation. Peter has more than 20 years' experience directing and delivering a comprehensive range of Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering services at the highest level. Most recently Peter was the Clinical Director and Head of Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Notable projects under his leadership were introduction of RFID technology at Addenbrookes to enhance utilization of medical devices in the patient environment and the integration of medical devices into clinical information systems in an e-hospital programme. Peter's other Career highlights includes Chief Executive of Northern Ireland Regional Medical Physics Agency. He also served as President of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM) promoting the use of Physics and Engineering for patient benefit at national and international level.
Nigel is Head of Medical & Healthcare at Plextek, spearheading engagement with a range of clients in the medical device sector, helping them develop innovative technology around sensors, data collection, communications and related areas. Nigel has over 25 years' experience in the global life science industry, in a wide range of senior scientific, commercial and managerial roles. He conducted research work at Genentech and Celltech, then at Cantab Pharmaceuticals he was responsible for all company product development, taking proprietary products into late-stage Clinical Trials. With the IP Group he established a programme of technology commercialisation from Kings College London, including start up and flotation of companies. Later, working for UK Trade & Investment, Nigel worked with a portfolio of overseas pharmaceutical companies to secure high-level investment into the UK's R&D capabilities. More recently he has worked as a business consultant both as an independent and at Sagentia. His current interests include the development of wearable technology to support clinical studies, and the use of monitoring systems for assisted living.
Paul Winter is a programme manager and RF engineer in the Communications and Wireless group at TTP. He has led numerous projects in commercial, industrial and healthcare sectors developing connected devices and precision instrumentation. Paul has a heritage in developing products integrating multiple wireless standards including GPS, GPRS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and proprietary ISM band radios, deployed within multi-sensor systems for in-home and on-body applications, often coupled to 'Cloud' based analysis and visualisation services. In healthcare Paul has applied aspects of wireless, antennas and electronics to a number of medical devices including inhalers, glucose testing and point of care diagnostic instruments. Paul has also led several incubation projects for TTP's Carbon Trust Incubator, covering a wide range of cutting edge technologies. Paul joined TTP in 2006; prior to this he worked as a radio engineer for Global Communications developing high volume consumer in-home satellite and digital TV distribution equipment, as well as portable equipment for the 'on-location' broadcasting industry. Paul has a Masters degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from the University of Wales, Cardiff. He is a member of the Institute of Engineering and Technology, the Royal Academy of Engineering and is a Charted Engineer.


In Italy everyone asks me how I could leave Valencia, its beach and its sun, a city where winter lasts just one month and you can be several months without any rain, for Modena. Here the winter is long and hard. The fog may not let you see the sun for several days. The rain can last for weeks. There is snow only sometimes, so when it snows people forget how to drive and everything becomes chaotic, the ice on the ground during the winter is very common.
What few people know is that long before I came here I lived in a place much colder than this one. In a small Dutch village called Voorschoten. And there I survived during the winter thanks to a way of life that I did not know then but, it has a lot to do with a Danish philosophy called Hygge.
As in Denmark, the climate of the Netherlands does not invite to happiness, but they practice the philosophy of Wellbeing (it is more or less what we can translate by Hygge) dedicating time to small details that make the days more special and warm. The essence of Hygge lies in creating a warm atmosphere and enjoying the small good things in life with the people we love.
I have sweet memories of Holland. Every week a bouquet of flowers was bought to decorate the house ... at sunset sometimes we lit some candles ... as it ALWAYS rains and it is cold, the weather does not invite to walks without direction, but it was usual to receive almost every day surprise visits from neighbors who brought sweets... We stopped during the day several times to take tea, what became the day less stressful.
All those memories surpass all the things that made life difficult; It was hard for me to learn the language and that made it difficult to make friends. At that time there was no skype, no whatsup, no Fb, so I missed so many people. A growing addiction to chocolate caused my size to increase a lot.
Time passed away and later I have lived in many other cities, but I always try to put a little bit of Hygge in my life so that everything becomes a little more pleasant and happy.
1) Turn off the lights and light the candles.
For the same reason you turn them on to celebrate birthdays, turn them on to celebrate an intimate and special moment of the day after work.
2) Choose warm lamps that relax.
Warm points of light scattered throughout the house will make your home more comforting.
Choose a small place in the house and make it yours and special; with a warm blanket, a comfortable cushion. Your place to relax, enjoy a good book, music or a simple tea.
4) Surround yourself with objects with meaning.
4) Do not make appointment just to have lunch, but also to cook.
The essence of Hygge is to make the daily routine of each day special. It is not the same to cook in a hurry just to have the food ready at a special hour, or cook dinner together.
6) Keep the connection with nature.
Consume seasonal foods, so that the meals vary during the months and thus celebrate the change of season. Do not stay locked up at home, do not be afraid of the cold; Enjoy the walks, the rain, a coffee on the balcony. (Remember that the flu is not spread in open spaces, but when we are together in enclosed spaces with the viruses.
7) Get comfortable and create a good atmosphere.
Soft house slippers, a warm sweater, a hot chocolate to watch a movie. Place the tablecloth and set the table even if you are going to eat alone.
It contributes to create memories and experiences. Organize one day a month to play board games with friends, prepare cookies with your children.
9) Avoid everything that can break that state of relaxation.
10) Things work better in "Petit Comitè".
Have appointments with small groups of friends with whom you can enjoy the conversation better without creating several groups. Everything will be more relaxing.
You can find several books about Hygge to go deeper into this philosophy. With Atipik Fabrik we try every day to create special objects to make a more beautiful world. Paper objects that give us some distance from the technology, to rediscover the pleasure of the handwriting. Illustrations with stories that will have for someone a special meaning and convert a mug into that indispensable one to face a Monday morning.


So our retainer wall definitely needed replaced and we decided to get a couple of estimates. One guy never got back to us, which was a bad sign, the other guy, well, he was nice enough to come out to give us a proposal on several ways we could redo the retainer wall but it seemed like none of the ideas were going to be inexpensive…and to beat all, we had the recommendation to take out 3 trees that were wrapped up in the retainer wall. Who thought it was cool to incorporate trees into the actual, structural part of a retainer wall?
So we got an estimate on having the trees removed. From two different tree contractors. But one contractor, Camcor Tree Service gave us such a good price at cutting down the trees and doing a little vista pruning (after 6 years) that we couldn't resist his offer. And he was able to do the job the next day.
So on Friday, here comes the crew to take down three big trees in the front of the house at the retainer wall.
One of the things that I really liked about Cory and his Team was they were neat and clean. Their area was always picked up and the driveway cleaned off, the whole entire time. The guys were constantly picking up, cleaning up and making sure the area looked good. No mess. As you can imagine, the homeowner is seeing all this wrecking going on and they were so conscientious of making sure all was right so we, as the homeowner, had a good feeling about the job.
Taking the trees down was a process which they, as professionals, had down to a science. There was the height of the trees to deal with, about 100+/- feel tall, the roof of the house to deal with, and the electrical and internet lines to deal with on all three trees. And I have to say, no one was injured, nothing was damaged and no power or internet lines came down. Truly professional through and through. And when the trees were finished, Cory and his Team cleaned up the area, even into the woods where some of the trees and limbs actually fell and they pulled the big trees out, and they smoothed out the area so it didn't looked damaged. Very nice all the way around.
And when that was finished, they started to tackle the vista but it was late in the day and they were only able to deal with two trees and decided to come back the next morning.
On Saturday morning, Cory and two of his Team came out to finish the vista pruning.
We had the view pruned in June 2010 so it has been over 6 years. The sun and openness really encouraged growth and suckers and that's what happened and obstructed our view. We still had our North Georgia Mountain view, which we loved but it was slightly obstructed, more than what we wanted.
Cory could see what the view should be and with his vision, he went to work on cleaning up and making the view look great again. Some of these trees are well over 100 feet and to think of being up that high in a tree with the ground crew helping to keep you safe, well, it was just a little more mind tingling that what we were used to.
Thank Goodness Cory and his Team were there to take care of and get the view right again; it was a little anxious at times seeing how high up in the trees he was and I was just thinking, Good Lord, keep him safe.
All in all, it turned out to be a great morning, no one got hurt, the view got cleaned up and we would highly recommend Cory and his Team for all your tree service needs; pruning, cutting, clearing, whatever tree needs you have, Cory will take good care of you. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!
SUNDAY – 30th – PetoberFest – Rocco's Pub – 11:00a until 4:00p – FREE to attend – Vendors, Pet Adoptions, K-9 Demonstrations, Games, Raffles, Pet Vaccinations, Pet Costume Contest @ 3p.
(2) – BOO-WHO? Scarecrow Contest WINNERS Announcement – 6:10p – N. Main Street in front of the Pickens County Courthouse – Top 3 Winners will be given Trophies and Prizes.
(3) – ZOMBIE WALK Jasper – N. Main Street in front of Pickens County Courthouse – 6:15p until 11:00p – Zombie Walkers move from N. Main Street down Stegall to Lee Newton Park to Stage Area – Zombie Face Painting by PC Chamber of Commerce, Food by ALL-A-CART, Vendors, Games, Raffles, 50/50 Drawing, Zombie Costume Contest for (Best Male over 16, Best Female over 16, Best Couple/Family, and Best Child under 16). Prizes sponsored by Rocco's Pub, Coco's Cottage, and EDR. Movie will begin when it gets dark. Movie will be "Alice Through the Looking Glass". Bring blankets, chairs, and dress to stay warm.
For The Jasper Merchants Association Boo Who? Scarecrow Contest.
All the scarecrows are located on Main Street in Jasper.
Voting Ends At Noon on Monday, October 31, 2016 – Be sure to vote for your Favorite Scarecrow!
Winners will be announced after the Trick or Treating (4pm – 6pm) on Main Street Monday evening.
What would you do if you were in Kroger, and some deranged person entered and started shooting all of the shoppers – including you?
Many people freeze and panic, not the best way to survive. You could be a victim or a statistic. What can you do to better your odds of survival, and be able to go home to your family?
Luckily, we have an excellent group that teaches worldwide right here in Jasper. They are the Chattahoochee Tech Police Department.
These dedicated men and women, on their own time, teach classes on what to do during an active shooter situation.
My family and I were lucky enough to attend their instructions on October 18, 2016. There were videos and explanations on what to do if you are ever caught in certain circumstances. These officers were the most professional and informed group. We thought that we were prepared before, but now have so much more knowledge to save our lives.
I don't want to include their points and ruin it for you, so you need to go to their class, which is free by the way! I will let you know, however, that this class gives you real life examples of active shooter events and informs you of what the people in the events did wrong and what they should have done to help save lives. Included are real 911 calls and adaptations of the actual situations.
The Chattahoochee Tech police gives these classes all over, so, please organize a class for your group. This is life-saving information, I guarantee you!
If you can get a group of 5 – 10 people together, they will even come to you. I was so impressed when the head of the force gave his personal reason for doing all of this. He absolutely doesn't want an active shooter event, but hopes that the people who attended his class can put the information that they learned to good use.
Let's get more of these classes set up and pack the house with attendees! Who knows? This knowledge that we learn could save your life or mine. For information on holding a class of your own, all you have to do is contact the police department at the Chattahoochee Technical College in Jasper at police@chattahoocheetech.edu or call them at (770) 529-2311.
Thank You Rob for your insight to a very scary but very possible situation.
How about a little pre-Halloween scare to get us ready for October 31st, The Real Thing?
Looks like there are spirits needing to be sprung, from jail that is, specifically the old Pickens County Jail, located on Main Street in Jasper, Pickens County GA.
A little history about our jail: The Old Pickens County Jail was in use from 1906-1982. The first floor of the building is where the sheriffs and their families lived. It includes a children's room, complete with a peep hole for the children to be able to peek at the prisoners. Another room was used as the family room. There was a master bedroom for the Sheriff and a kitchen that was used by the sheriff's wife to make meals for the family as well as for the prisoners. The meals were fed to the prisoners by sliding the food through a slot in the kitchen wall. Behind the house is a well and there was a garden at one time. The upper level of the building is where the jail cells are located. The jail had room for 16 prisoners but often held many more than that amount. On the second floor was housed a working gallows equipped with a drop floor. The gallows was never used as far as we know, for official hangings. Although there were no official hangings, it is said that there was a prisoner suicide at one time.
13 sheriffs and their families lived in this jail when it was in use. The Sheriff and deputies helped federal agencies find and destroy local moonshine stills, and arrests were made due to this. (As you can imagine, the mountains of North Georgia held plenty of places for those to make moonshine). The prison held all kinds of delinquents, who had committed many different crimes, due to this, the jail houses many, many years of negative energy.
Hi, My name is Jeanne Wells and I am a paranormal investigator and the Author of the upcoming book about The Ghosts of Georgia; Georgia's Ghostly Mysteries and Haunted Histories. I recently had the opportunity to investigate the old Pickens jail with The Murray County Paranormal Investigations Group. The group came equipped with all of the modern day ghost hunting equipment including a ghost box, which spirits are able to communicate through. The investigation came up with some interesting findings.
As I look out through the bars of the window, I can't help but notice a bank next door. How ironic that is, and I wonder what a temptation this must be for the thieves who were incarcerated there and never got the chance to leave. How frustrating it must be for these specters to see this bank day after day, night after night and to have that temptation there, and not be able to do anything about it.
It started with an EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) and ended with a ghost box session. During the investigation, a woman's hair was pulled, perhaps by the spirit of a feisty prisoner. Another saw a ghostly apparition suddenly appear behind another person and then quickly disappear. The most exciting part of the investigation was the ghost box session. One of the sessions was in the jail cells on the upper level. An eerie voice came through the ghost box and said 'moonshine'. As I have stated before, the jail most likely contained many prisoners over the years who had been arrested for selling moonshine. This disembodied voice was apparently one of them. Another session was held in the children's room on the lower level and when one of the investigators asked if they knew that they were dead, he received the answer 'no'. It is said that sometimes, when a person passes, they do not realize that they have died. This sounds like one of those occasions.
During the investigation, I took many pictures and got pictures of orbs in many of the shots. An orb is a ball of energy thought to be one of the ways that the dead can manifest themselves. One particular photo intrigued me the most. It was a picture I had taken of the hanging noose at the gallows. There was an orb floating right by the noose as if the head of an unseen spirit was still in it, and that the spirit was, literally still "hanging around".
This penitentiary is dark and dreary, and the air is heavy and oppressive. I can't help but think what a tragedy it would be for one of these lost souls to have to spend all of eternity behind these old and time worn bars.
I would like to thank the Murray County Paranormal Investigations Group for a night full of intrigue and a great ghostly experience.
Be on the lookout for more ghostly articles and my upcoming book about the ghosts here in Georgia, which will include many of the buildings in our surrounding area. Visit and Like my Facebook page, Spirits, Angels and the Paranormal.
Article and photographs by Jeanne Wells (Excerpts from upcoming book Georgia's Ghostly Mysteries and Haunted Histories).


text:
"Sonlight has been a blessing to our family," says Carla P of Upper Marlboro, MD. "The living books bring so much joy and depth to our homeschool days. The best part of Sonlight is that it fosters deep and meaningful interaction and bonds, along with a great education. Being a military family, we move a lot, and it helps our kids adjust to bring their old 'friends' (books) with them!" Pictured, Ava (9) celebrates Box Day. The P family has been homeschooling for five years, Sonighting for two.
Every year, I think 'this is my favorite History / Bible / Literature,' and every following year, the new one blows me away all over again," writes Allison H of Bridgeport, WV. "I have yet to part with any of our Sonlight books, and we've all enjoyed rereading many of the earlier Readers and Read-Alouds. Sonlight has given my children a broad view of the world and a deep connection with each other." Pictured, Seth (13), Ruthie (9), and Hadley (11) enjoy a history lesson while getting ready for the day. The H family has been Sonlighting for seven years.
"We were drawn to Sonlight because we love the books and reading together," writes Megan S of Santa Rosa, CA, "but the Book of Time and the way history is put into place by the collective curriculum was a revelation for me.
"I have learned so much right alongside my children! And my babies learn daily with their older sisters. It's an all-around win. We thank God for bringing Sonlight into our lives."
Here, Megan's daughter Alheli (4) hugs her Book of Time as she joyfully realizes that she'll be doing her very own timeline work! Her sisters Ellen (7) and Olin (4) look at their own treasures during their family's fifth Box Day."Alheli has been listening to her older sisters' Sonlight readings since she was a baby," Megan said. "This year, as we opened the box, she said 'Hey, look! A new timeline book!' When I told her it was hers to use, she pulled it out with awe and kissed it. I love that one of her growing-up milestones will be her use of the timeline that she's watched her sisters diligently fill throughout her life. It's a page in her very own story."
Exploring Creation with General Science - Multimedia CD
Author: Apologia Educational Ministries
Includes audio pronunciations for unique vocabulary words found in the companion textbook, plus video clips and graphic demonstrations.
Dr. Wile shows you, with video examples, what you should be looking for and how you will look for it; he explains out loud — with animated graphics — some of the more difficult concepts and processes; and he presents live footage of what you are studying. Speaking as a former honors high school student: I would not want to do without the videos and many of the graphic animations and demonstrations.
You will need a PC with sound capability and uses Windows 95 or higher. Apologia does not offer technical support for Macintosh or Linux platforms. However, this product should work on Mac OS X or virtual PC 5.0.
Please Note: Software cannot be returned for a refund once package is opened. Once the package is opened, it may ONLY be returned if it is faulty, and then for purposes of EXCHANGE only.
No included items.
Exploring Creation with General Science, Print Version (HS01)
A wonderful, introduction to science in general and some of the specific sciences in particular, designed from the ground up for use by homeschoolers. Topics include a brief history of science; the scientific method; how to analyze and interpret experiments; the distinction between science, applied science, and technology; astronomy; geology and paleontology; meteorology and oceanography; chemistry; general physics; genetics (DNA and life); cells; classification (the five kingdom system); marine life; and ecology.


text:
Sony Plans To Sell Five Million PlayStation 4 Units By The End Of March 2014
Posted on Sep 19 2013 - 10:23am by Editorial Staff
Fiscal YearPlaystationPlayStation 4PS4SaleSonyTarget
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Sony at its Tokyo Game Show keynote address this morning announced that the company will sell 5 million of its PlayStation 4 gaming console by the end of March 2014. Counting on older version, PlayStation 3, it tool a whole one year for the company to reach five million unit sales while with today's announcement it will certainly be good to see how the company in actual plan to achieve the numbers.
The console will make its debut in November in both US and Europe while it will be available in Japan only by February 22, approximately three months later than that of the US and two months after the Asia launch. Will report further on this, and notify accordingly that really the company able to stand with its commitment on selling five million units.
Photo Credit: Flickr/Alan Klim